Trump Pardons Tina Peters, Colorado Officials Affirm State Conviction Stands
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Former President Donald Trump has pardoned Tina Peters, the ex-Mesa County Clerk convicted of state election-related crimes, but Colorado officials maintain her state conviction and sentence remain unaffected.
Former President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that he has granted a full presidential pardon to Tina Peters, the former Mesa County Clerk in Colorado, who was convicted and sentenced to nine years in prison for tampering with voting machines following the 2020 U.S. presidential election.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump stated that Peters was being pardoned for her actions, which he described as efforts to expose voter fraud in what he again referred to as the "Rigged 2020 Presidential Election."
Peters was convicted in August 2024 on seven counts related to a security breach of Mesa County's election system. She was sentenced to nine years in prison and is currently serving her sentence at a women's prison in Pueblo, Colorado.
Despite the presidential pardon, Colorado officials have emphasized that it has no legal impact on her state conviction and incarceration. Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser stated, "The idea that a president could pardon someone tried and convicted in state court has no precedent in American law, would be an outrageous departure from what our constitution requires, and will not hold up."
Governor Jared Polis also defended Peters' conviction, noting that "No President has jurisdiction over state law nor the power to pardon a person for state convictions. This is a matter for the courts to decide, and we will abide by court orders."
Peters' legal team has raised concerns about her physical safety and declining health behind bars. Efforts to transfer her to federal custody or secure her release during appeal have been unsuccessful. A federal judge in Denver recently rejected her federal lawsuit seeking release, concluding that state courts are the proper venue for her to challenge her conviction.
The Justice Department is reviewing Peters' case to evaluate whether her prosecution involved political bias and to assess the length of her sentence. However, the department does not have the power to overturn a state conviction.
Peters remains incarcerated, and her legal fate continues to rest with the state judicial system.
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