Image: Grant Godwin – The Typical Liberal X @the_typical_lib
By Open Chronicle Staff with Agencies
WASHINGTON D.C. – President Donald Trump announced late Thursday evening that he is granting a pardon to Tina Peters, the former Mesa County Clerk in Colorado, who is currently serving a nine-year state prison sentence for allowing unauthorized access to voting machines. The announcement immediately ignited a constitutional debate, as the President’s pardon power is widely understood to apply only to federal crimes.
Peters was convicted last year in state court on seven charges, including three counts of attempting to influence a public servant and one count of conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, and was sentenced in October 2024. She was prosecuted by an elected Republican District Attorney.
Donald Trump just “pardoned” Tina Peters who was found guilty in Colorado for interfering in the 2020 election on his behalf. Problem is? She was convicted of state charges, not federal so his pardon means absolutely nothing. LOL pic.twitter.com/Mrn9r1dbkT
— Harry Sisson (@harryjsisson) December 12, 2025
On Truth Social, President Trump claimed Peters was being unfairly targeted, calling her “a Patriot who simply wanted to make sure that our Elections were Fair and Honest,” and asserting she was jailed for the “crime’ of demanding Honest Elections.” Trump has consistently, and without evidence, promoted the false claims of widespread fraud in the 2020 election, which Peters also championed as a one-time candidate for Colorado Secretary of State.
Colorado state officials quickly pushed back on the unprecedented action, calling it a blatant disregard for states’ rights and constitutional limits.
“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,” said Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold in a statement.
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser echoed the sentiment, stating, “One of the most basic principles of our constitution is that states have independent sovereignty and manage our own criminal justice systems without interference from the federal government. 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.”
Under the U.S. Constitution, the President’s pardon power explicitly applies only to “Offences against the United States,” a concept almost universally accepted by legal scholars as excluding state convictions.
However, Peters’ attorney, Peter Ticktin, is championing an untested legal theory that the power may extend to the states, acknowledging that the issue “has never been raised in any court.” Ticktin, who thanked Mr. Trump for the pardon, argued that Peters “needs to be released while the issues are being resolved,” including the legal challenge of the pardon itself.
The dispute follows a history of presidential intervention in Peters’ case. Earlier this month, a federal magistrate judge rejected Peters’ request for release pending appeal. Previously, the Federal Bureau of Prisons asked Colorado state officials to transfer Peters to federal custody, a request that drew significant pushback from state officials.
Colorado Governor Jared Polis (D) reinforced the state’s position, stating, “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.”
The pardon of Tina Peters is the latest in a series of actions by President Trump on behalf of supporters who have faced legal consequences for backing his false election claims, including dozens of people accused in state court of trying to overturn the 2020 election loss.