Judge calls ‘probable cause’ hearing on campaign finance complaint against Lindell
Tom Hauser KSTP
Judge calls ‘probable cause’ hearing on campaign finance complaint against Lindell
Mike Lindell became famous promoting his MyPillow company and now he’s facing a legal challenge to his practice of giving away pillows at parades while campaigning
“This is our little ‘go anywhere’ MyPillow,” Lindell said recently while holding up a pillow. “It’s like a mini-pillow. We’ve used it in promotions for a long, long time. I love doing parades.”
An administrative law judge ruled this week there is evidence of a “prima facie violation” of Minnesota campaign finance law. The ruling comes after a citizen filed a campaign finance complaint after he witnessed Lindell giving away pillows with campaign literature at a parade in Delano on the Fourth of July
“The Complaint alleges that Respondent directly distributed pillows marked ‘Mike Lindell for Governor’ from a parade float decorated with signs that said the same, in order to induce voters to vote for Respondent,” a document from a Minnesota Administrative Law Judge says. “The Complaint further alleges the pillows have a monetary value of $34.95. Taking the allegations in the Complaint as true, as required at this stage, the Complaint sets forth a prima facie violation of state law.”
When 5 Eyewitness News first reported questions about the pillow giveaways after a parade in Foley, Minnesota, in June, Lindell told us he sought an opinion from the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board and was told it was okay
A spokesperson for the board wouldn’t confirm that
“These aren’t full-size pillows,” Lindell said in June. “They’re little pillows just like if you gave away a hat or a shirt or anything. Our literature is inside it. We followed all the guidelines to the ‘T.’”
Minnesota state law prohibits giving away things of “monetary value” to get people to vote in a “particular way.”
Hamline University Law Professor and campaign finance expert David Schultz says Lindell seems to be beyond a legal gray area
“There’s lots of red flags there,” Schultz told us in June. “Lots of questions that we have, but certainly on the surface it raises all kinds of questions about the legality of what he did.”
Administrative Law Judge Nicholas B. Lienesch scheduled a probable cause hearing for Monday morning at 10 a.m. to hear from the citizen complainant and Lindell
