MyPillow's Mike Lindell says his cellphone was seized by FBI: "This is disgusting"
CHASKA, Minn. – MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, a supporter of Donald Trump who has espoused the former president's false claims that the 2020 election was stolen, said he was served a federal subpoena Tuesday and that his phone was seized by federal agents.
"I got out of the car, and I said, 'Who are you guys?'" Lindell recalled in an interview with WCCO. "And he says they're with the FBI, and I say, 'Let me see a badge.'"
According to Lindell, at least four FBI agents approached him after he ordered food at a Hardee's drive-thru in Mankato. Patrick McSweeney, an attorney for Lindell, confirmed in an email to CBS News that the subpoena was served and Lindell's cellphone was confiscated.
"I said, 'Does this have anything to do with January 6th?'" Lindell said, referring to investigations led by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Washington, D.C. into the origins of the Capitol riot. "They said 'no.'"
Lindell provided CBS News with photos of three pages of what appears to be a subpoena authorized by a federal grand jury in Grand Junction, Colorado. One page shows a subpoena to present evidence from Lindell before the grand jury on Nov. 3.
Lindell explained on Wednesday that the subpoena specifically sought his phone and referenced any records on the device related to Dominion Voting Systems, a voting machine company that has sued Lindell and others for defamation.
"These things happen for a reason and good will come out of it," Lindell added. "I've done nothing wrong. I'm fully transparent. I've told my whole life story in a book. I don't lie."
According to Lindell, FBI agents asked him specifically about Tina Peters, a Mesa County, Colorado clerk who has been accused by state authorities of allowing an unauthorized person to break into the county's election system in order to search for evidence that would validate Trump's election conspiracy theories
Peters on Sept. 7 entered not guilty pleas to three counts of attempting to influence a public servant, criminal impersonation, two counts of conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, one count of identity theft, first-degree official misconduct, violation of duty and failing to comply with the secretary of state.
CBS News Colorado reported in August 2021 that the FBI was investigating the Mesa County Clerk and Recorder's Office. It is unclear if Lindell's subpoena was in connection with that investigation.
Lindell said Wednesday that the FBI agents also asked him about various flights he's taken. Lindell said he told them he travels the country meeting with elected officials.
"The attorney generals I met with are mostly Republican ones when I'm trying to get evidence before Supreme Court," Lindell told WCCO.
As for Peters, Lindell explained he met her last summer and he said he supported her unsuccessful campaign for the GOP nomination for Colorado Secretary of State.
"All they're doing is attacking our citizens rather than going after the criminals," Lindell asserted. "This is disgusting."
Lindell described his interaction with the agents as "very civil," but he was emphatic that it will not deter him from continuing to push his agenda.
"Where do I go from here? The same thing I do every day for the last year and a half: 18 hours a day I spend trying to get rid of these electronic voting machines," he said.
Dominion and Smartmatic, two companies that produce electronic voting machines, are suing Lindell for defamation; his own countersuits against them have been dismissed, as have dozens of other claims of alleged election fraud across the country.
On Monday, news broke that the U.S. Department of Justice served subpoenas to more than 30 former Trump officials and aides in connection to the Jan. 6 insurrection.
