A Minnesota administrative law judge has determined there is probable cause to believe Mike Lindell, founder of MyPillow and a candidate for Minnesota governor, violated state campaign finance regulations through a pillow giveaway at a public event last month.
Judge Nicholas Lienesch issued a four-page ruling finding sufficient grounds to proceed to an evidentiary hearing before a three-judge administrative panel. The judge wrote that there is probable cause the pillows constituted items of monetary value that were not explicitly exempted under state law, and that they were distributed with the intent to influence voters. Under Minnesota statute, providing something of monetary value to induce voting is prohibited, though food and beverages under $5 are exempted.
The complaint was filed by Dan Fiskum, a Democrat running for state senate, regarding pillows distributed at a Fourth of July parade in Delano, Minnesota. Lindell has stated the pillows cost $4.90 each wholesale and were purchased within the exemption threshold. He argued the giveaway was pre-approved by Minnesota’s campaign finance board and compared the distribution to typical campaign items like buttons and keychains. At a hearing, Lindell also drew a comparison to distributing his memoir at campaign events.
Lindell characterized the complaint as “complete nonsense” and “an attack,” asserting that all proper procedures were followed and no law was broken. He cited a recent endorsement from President Trump as context for what he described as timing designed to create doubt before the primary election. On Tuesday, Lindell announced he was stepping down as MyPillow CEO to focus on his gubernatorial campaign, calling it “one of the biggest decisions” of his life.
Lindell is competing against six Republican rivals, including Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth and state GOP-endorsed candidate Kendall Qualls, as well as seven Democrats, including US Senator Amy Klobuchar, in races leading to primary and general elections.
Article Attribution | Read More at Article Source
Article summary produced by Claude AI