ນີ້ແມ່ນເຫດຜົນທີ່ FBI ສືບສວນ MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell

Topline

Attorneys for MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell have released the search warrant that FBI investigators used to seize the Trump ally’s cell phone, showing agents took the CEO and high-profile election denier’s phone as part of an investigation into whether Lindell and others may have violated three federal statutes through an alleged election security breach in Colorado.

ຂໍ້ເທັດຈິງສໍາຄັນ

ອີງ​ຕາມ​ການ ຫນັງສືບັງຄັບການຊອກຫາ, which was uploaded to the court docket in Lindell’s ກົດຫມາຍວ່າດ້ວຍ against the FBI Wednesday after some of its contents were first ລາຍງານ by news outlets, Lindell is listed as one of seven subjects in the federal government’s investigation, along with Mesa County, Colorado, election clerk Tina Peters—who has already been ຖືກກ່າວຫາ by state prosecutors—and other election workers and right-wing allies.

The investigation stems from an alleged breach of election equipment last year in Mesa County, Colorado, in which data from the county’s voting machines was allegedly copied and shared online as part of a broader effort on the far right to prove fraud in the 2020 presidential election, which there is no evidence to support.

Peters, who allegedly helped facilitate the breach, appeared onstage at an event hosted by Lindell to speak about the county’s election security after the breach occurred, and Lindell initially told reporters he spent $200,000 to fund her legal defense, though he later walked back those claims and told the New York Times he did not actually fund it.

The search warrant states FBI investigators ຍຶດໄດ້ Lindell’s phone to look for any evidence of violations of three federal statutes, which concern identity theft, intentional ຄວາມເສຍຫາຍ to a protected computer and ສົມຮູ້ຮ່ວມຄິດ to commit identity theft or intentional computer damage.

Investigators were looking for information on Lindell’s phone related to the subjects of the investigation—particularly pro-Trump operative Conan Hayes, who the warrant suggests may be under investigation for identity theft—and information on computerized voting systems from Dominion Voting Systems, which manufactured the machines used in Mesa County.

The warrant does not state whether Lindell is himself a direct target of the investigation or if the FBI has evidence to suggest he violated federal law himself, and he has not faced any charges in the probe.

ຫົວ ໜ້າ ສຳ ຄັນ

Lindell has opposed the seizure of his cell phone, and he sued the FBI Wednesday in a bid to have it returned, alleging the FBI’s actions violated his constitutional rights. The MyPillow CEO has also remained defiant about his false claims of election fraud and has continued to push the allegations despite the mounting legal scrutiny against him.

ຄວາມເປັນມາຫຼັກ

Lindell has been one of the most prominent voices on the far right pushing false allegations of fraud in the 2020 election, most notably claiming that machines “flipped” votes from former President Donald Trump to President Joe Biden. He has pushed the claims online, in interviews, in documentaries ແລະຢູ່ ຫຼາຍ "symposiums.” In addition to the FBI’s investigation into the alleged Colorado breach, Lindell is also facing two ຟ້ອງ​ຮ້ອງ​ກ່ຽວ​ກັບ​ການ​ສໍ້​ໂກງ from Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic for claiming the companies’ voting machines were used to commit fraud, with Dominion alleging Lindell has peddled false allegations about the company because “the lie sells pillows.” While the exact scope of the FBI’s investigation is unknown, the alleged security breach in Colorado is one of several places where pro-Trump forensics experts allegedly breached election infrastructure or were given court permission to do so, along with as Coffee County, ຈໍ​ເຈຍ, and multiple counties in Michigan, ເນວາດາ ແລະ Pennsylvania. State prosecutors in Michigan and Georgia are now investigating those incidents.

ກະທັດຮັດ

Peters was ຖືກກ່າວຫາ by state prosecutors in March on 10 charges for the alleged Mesa County breach, including felony charges for attempting to influence a public servant, identity theft, criminal impersonation and conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation. Her deputy Belinda Knisley—also named as a subject of the FBI’s investigation—was indicted on six counts.

ອ່ານ​ເພີ່ມ​ເຕີມ

CEO Mike Lindell ຂອງ MyPillow ຟ້ອງ FBI ສໍາລັບການຍຶດໂທລະສັບຂອງລາວຢູ່ທີ່ Drive-through ຂອງ Hardee (Forbes)

Trump ອ້າງວ່າ CEO ຂອງ MyPillow Mike Lindell 'ຖືກໂຈມຕີ' ໂດຍ FBI ຫຼັງຈາກໂທລະສັບມືຖືຂອງລາວຖືກຍຶດຢູ່ທີ່ Drive-through ຂອງ Hardee. (Forbes)

The Strange Tale of Tina Peters (ໜັງ ສືພິມ New York Times)

Federal Investigation Into Colorado Clerk Reaches MyPillow’s Mike Lindell (ໜັງ ສືພິມ New York Times)