Government

Mike Lindell Defies Jan. 6 Committee Subpoena FOR JESUS

Also his janky social media platform makes him a journalist now.

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(Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

Yesterday, Mike Lindell joined the crowd of plaintiffs suing the January 6 Select Committee. But being the MyPillow guy, his MyLawsuit to block MySubpoena for MyCellphone records is MyBugf*ck Crazy in its own special way — and not because he filed his claim in Minnesota rather than DC.

To wit, he says the Committee can’t subpoena his cellphone records because it violates his freedom of religion. Apparently his “religion” is worshipping at the altar of Donald Trump and his insane lies about a stolen election, so investigating Lindell’s role in fomenting a riot is like arresting him for going to church.

Tell us, Pillow Man!

Mr. Lindell has widely publicized that his 2020 election integrity activities are motivated, in part, by his strongly held religious beliefs. He has organized national religious leaders and others with similar religious beliefs to join him in his 2020 election integrity activities. Mr. Lindell’s activities are widely known. His speeches and publications regularly articulate his religious belief and the scriptural basis for it. He regularly associates with others holding similar religious beliefs to organize 2020 election integrity activities.

Lindell, who is a born again Christian, told Politico that he believes God gave him “the voice” to bring about the “miracle” of Trump’s restoration. And thus he argues that he and his fellow worshippers of the fatted golden calf are protected from congressional investigation by a holy First Amendment mantle.

Well … good luck with that one!

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He also claims to be a “journalist and publisher” with “the right and obligation to protect his sources” because he produced those wackass documentaries that were supposedly going to convince the Supreme Court to restore Trump to the presidency “Absolutely 9-0.” Also he hosts that janky “Frank” social media platform that was supposed to replace “Mr. Alphabet and Mr. Google … or Suckabuck or Dorky and all these people that try and control us here and that are all going to prison.”

And no, I did not make that up. I wish I were that funny.

Apparently, the Committee can’t see the Pillow Pumper’s metadata because he “associates with numerous other persons who may or may not be public figures, whose identity and association with him is not publicly known, who wish to have such contacts remain confidential.” So the Court needs to block the Committee’s subpoena because “[c]ompelling disclosure of Mr. Lindell’s religious and political activities and associations is a violation of his First Amendment Freedom of Association rights, Free Exercise of Religion rights, as well as Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Press, and Freedom of Assembly rights.”

Other than that, it’s mostly the same weak sauce as in the other eleventy-seven suits. The Committee is illegal because it doesn’t have any Republican members appointed by the House GOP; Even though there are two Republicans on the Committee, there is no ranking member, and thus the Committee cannot issue subpoenas; The Committee is engaged in law enforcement activity, and that is not a legitimate legislative purpose. So the US District Court in Minnesota should tell Congress how to do its business because Article III is boss of Article I and congressional subpoenas are illegal.

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Not that Lindell bothered to include a copy of the subpoena with this pleading, of course. He just wants the court to take his word for it that the demand is overbroad, or as he puts it “Count VI: Unenforceable Coverage Period.” (Assume it’s the same ancient mimeographed subpoena every other litigant got, in which case it’s just for metadata.)

Lindell also makes a couple of wholly inaccurate factual claims. First he insists that “Both Rep. Cheney and Kinzinger were removed from the Republican Caucus.” Then he states that “The minority leader of the House nominated five members of his party to serve on the Select Committee, but Speaker Pelosi refused to appoint any of these five.”

The Wyoming Republican Party voted to stop recognizing Cheney, but she remains a remember of the House Republican Caucus. And Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy yanked his members when Pelosi refused to seat Reps. Jim Banks and Jim Jordan. But perhaps those are tenets of Mike Lindell’s faith, in which case it is a violation of the First Amendment to make him say otherwise in a court filing.

That is just how Freedom of Religion goes. Or is it Freedom of the Press. Speech? Let’s just say all of the above.

Lindell v. Pelosi [Docket via Court Listener]

Liz Dye lives in Baltimore where she writes about law and politics.

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