A former Colorado clerk convicted in a 2020 voting-system breach scheme is now the latest lightning rod in the election wars after President Donald Trump announced he is pardoning her, even though he has no legal authority to wipe away state crimes.
Trump unveiled the pardon for Tina Peters on Truth Social, claiming she has been locked up for the “crime” of demanding fair elections. He blasted Democrats for what he called a political hit job, writing, “Democrats have been relentless in their targeting of TINA PETERS, a Patriot who simply wanted to make sure that our elections were fair and honest. Today I am granting Tina a full pardon for her attempts to expose voter fraud in the rigged 2020 presidential election!”
His declaration may rally supporters, but under the Constitution, a president cannot pardon state offenders. Colorado Democrats wasted no time mocking the announcement. “We’re not surprised by President Trump shouting into the wind and issuing a meaningless pardon for his friend and fellow election denier Tina Peters,” Colorado Democratic Party Chair Shad Murib told Fox News Digital. “The President has no legal authority to demand her release.”
Murib reminded critics that Peters’ conviction didn’t come from Washington. “She was convicted by a jury of her peers on state charges and she should remain in state custody,” he said. “For a president who obviously doesn’t respect the rule of law, this is not surprising. Nobody is above the law, not even the president’s friends.”
Colorado Republicans, however, lined up behind Trump. State GOP chair Brita Horn urged Colorado to match the pardon. “We trust the President has done his due diligence in this matter in the name of justice,” Horn said. “We call upon Colorado to follow the direction of President Trump and this pardon.”
Tina Peters speaks with local outlet KREX 5 in 2021
The political uproar comes just days after a federal judge refused to spring Peters, 70, from her nine-year state sentence. She was convicted of taking part in a scheme that breached the Mesa County voting systems and later claimed her punishment violated her First Amendment rights. Judge Scott Varholak didn’t buy the argument.
“Ms. Peters raises important constitutional questions concerning whether the trial court improperly punished her more severely because of her protected First Amendment speech,” he wrote. “But because this question remains pending before Colorado courts, this Court must abstain from answering that question until after the Colorado courts have decided the issue.”
Her attorney, Peter Ticktin, said he was informed Thursday that the pardon had been issued. “Tina Peters deserves justice,” he wrote on X, adding that he had urged Trump to intervene and called her prosecution a “travesty.” In a Dec. 7 letter to Trump, Ticktin argued she wasn’t allowed to present her defense in court.
Trump amplified that theme in his announcement, accusing Democrats of targeting Peters while letting violent criminals run loose. “For years, Democrats ignored violent and vicious crime of all shapes, sizes, colors, and types. Violent criminals who should have been locked up were allowed to attack again,” he wrote. He claimed Democrats welcomed criminals from abroad as well, adding, “Democrats only think there is one crime – not voting for them! Instead of protecting Americans and their tax dollars, Democrats chose instead to prosecute anyone they can find who wanted safe and secure elections.”
Colorado’s Democratic governor, Jared Polis, made clear he won’t follow Trump’s lead. “Tina Peters was convicted by a jury of her peers, prosecuted by a Republican District Attorney, and found guilty of violating Colorado state laws, including criminal impersonation,” Polis said on X.
“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.”
Secretary of State Jena Griswold backed him up, saying in a statement, “Tina Peters was convicted by a jury of her peers for state crimes in a state Court. Trump has no constitutional authority to pardon her. His assault is not just on our democracy, but on states’ rights and the American constitution.”
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