Embattled MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell claimed on Steve Bannon’s podcast that his bank just called him and urged him to liquidate his accounts with them because they fear their relationship with him will cause “reputational damage.”
Lindell, who is already facing a billion-dollar civil lawsuit for defamation from Dominion Voting Systems, played a recording he claimed came from a bank officer at Heartland Financial and Minnesota Bank and Trust who told him he had 30 days to close his accounts and take his business elsewhere.
Lindell was warned on the recording that the bank is afraid the FBI will subpoena his bank data and that they don’t want anything to do with him, admitting any link to him is “more of a reputation risk.”
With that, the bedding executive and Trump supporter claimed that the bank would have to evict him because he refused to leave, telling Bannon and his listeners, “‘I’m not going to be a part of this,’ I declared. I’m not going anywhere. As a result, you’ll have to kick me out of your bank.'”
“Where does it end everybody? Where does it end?” Lindell inquired, implying that he is being punished as a result of his controversial advocacy. He said that the banks’ decision was influenced by his unwillingness to cooperate with the House select committee investigating the pro-Trump attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Bannon then “put the phone numbers and contact information of top officials at the institutions onscreen—urging supporters to call and complain.”
The House select committee had subpoenaed Lindell’s phone records earlier this month, according to CNBC. “I wasn’t there on January 6th, and yes, they did subpoena my phone records,” the businessman told the news organization in a text message. “However, we filed a complaint for declaratory and injunctive relief against the January 6th committee and Verizon to completely invalidate this corrupt subpoena.”
Dominion Voting Systems has filed a defamation action against the MyPillow creator for his repeated assertions that the company helped Biden steal the election. Dominion is suing Lindell for $1.3 billion in damages, claiming that his public misinformation campaign about the corporation caused considerable damage to its reputation. Lindell’s attempt to dismiss the complaint was already denied by a Trump-appointed judge, Justice Carl J. Nichols of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
Skidmore
Meanwhile, Lindell continues to travel the country and speak at pro-Trump rallies, claiming that Biden will win the 2020 election. Despite Trump’s claims, more than 60 election challenge cases brought by him and his backers in state and federal courts have been dismissed. The legal claims were dismissed by ten judges nominated by the former president.
Former Attorney General William Barr, widely regarded as one of Trump’s most devoted Cabinet members, sparked outrage when he ordered the Justice Department to examine claims of widespread election fraud after the 2020 election. However, in December 2020, he claimed that there was “no evidence” of wrongdoing that could reverse Trump’s victory.
While being overseen by a Trump appointee, the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency declared the 2016 presidential election to be the “safest in American history.”
Moreover, countless audits and recounts conducted across the country—including in places where the election was monitored by pro-Trump conservatives—have consistently confirmed Biden’s victory.
