Topline
President Donald Trump on Thursday said he is issuing a “full pardon” for Tina Peters—the former Mesa County Clerk serving a nine-year prison sentence in Colorado for tampering with her county’s election equipment—a move Colorado state officials deemed “lawless” as presidential pardons are only limited to federal crimes.
Key Facts
In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote: “Today I am granting Tina a full Pardon for her attempts to expose Voter Fraud,” before repeating his false claims about the 2020 presidential election being rigged.
It is unclear what crime the president is pardoning Peters for, as her conviction and prison sentence were issued by a Colorado state court—where presidential pardons don’t apply.
Trump accused the Democrats of being “relentless in their targeting” of Peters and claimed that the prominent 2020 election denier, who was convicted of tampering with her county’s voting machine, “simply wanted to make sure that our Elections were Fair and Honest.”
The president continued to attack Democrats, alleging they “ignored Violent and Vicious Crime.”
Ed Martin, the Justice Department’s Pardon Attorney, reshared Trump’s post on X and wrote, “No one left behind,” repeating a phrase he’s used earlier to celebrate commutations handed to the president’s supporters.
At the time of publishing, the page on the DOJ’s website listing all clemency grants by Trump did not include any mention of Peters’ pardon.
What Have Colorado Officials Said About Trump’s Pardon?
In a post on X, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, wrote: “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. No President has jurisdiction over state law nor the power to pardon a person for state convictions.” In an interview with NBC affiliate 9News, the state’s Attorney General Phil Weiser said: “This is a lawless act. It’s an act of intimidation. It has no basis in American law. Our system of government gives states authority to run their own criminal justice systems…This president doesn’t respect the rule of law. But he doesn’t have the authority to undermine how we operate our judicial system here in Colorado.”
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