Supreme Court Lets Mike Lindell Off Hook for $5M
MyPillow CEO and founder Mike Lindell speaks to reporters at his MyPillow factory in the Minneapolis suburb of Shakopee, Minn., on Thursday, Dec, 11, 2025, as he launches his campaign for the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz in 2026. (AP Photo/Steve Karnowski)
Mike Lindell can keep $5 million thanks to the U.S. Supreme Court—without the justices issuing any explanation. On Monday, the court declined to hear Robert Zeidman v. Lindell Management, leaving a lower-court ruling in place that says Lindell does not have to pay a $5 million “Prove Mike Wrong” prize tied to his 2020 election claims, according to Law and Crime.
The challenge began at a 2021 election fraud “Cyber Symposium” in South Dakota, where Lindell promised a payout to anyone who could prove that his data on alleged Chinese interference in the election was false. Software developer and Trump voter Bob Zeidman did just that, an arbitration panel found, and awarded the money. A federal judge upheld that award in February 2024.
However, in July, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the decision—not on the election facts but on the contest’s contract language. The appeals court said the arbitration panel had improperly considered outside material, including Lindell’s promotional references to “packet capture” (PCAP) data, which the contest rules never mentioned. Under Minnesota law, the court noted, clear contracts must be interpreted based solely on their text, and the panel had overstepped its authority.
In practice, the court ruled that while Zeidman demonstrated Lindell’s data did not prove election hacking and was not PCAP data, he had not shown under the contract’s exact wording that the data was unrelated to the election. Zeidman called the ruling “bad for America” in a Slate op-ed and asked the Supreme Court to address whether courts can overturn arbitration awards for “manifest disregard of the law.” By declining the case, the justices left that question unresolved—and Lindell is not required to pay the $5 million.
That doesn’t mean Lindell is free of financial troubles. In November, a far-right podcaster sued him for allegedly failing to repay a $3 million loan, Colorado Newsline reports. Meanwhile, President Trump recently said the MyPillow CEO “deserves to be governor of Minnesota,” according to CBS News.
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