Election Denier Tina Peters Was ‘Pardoned’ by Trump. She’s Still in Prison

Throughout this period, Trump continued to post articles about Peters’ cause on Truth Social, specifically targeting Polis, whom he referred to as “the SLEAZEBAG governor of Colorado” on December 3. On New Year’s Eve, Trump wrote on Truth Social: “Hard to wish [Peters] have a good year, but to the bastard governor and the disgusting “Republican” (RINO!) DA… I only wish them the worst. May they rot in hell. FREE TINA PETERS! » (Trump has posted about Peters’ cause on Truth Social eight times in the past nine months.)

At the time, Peters’ legal team, led by Peter Ticktin, who attended the New York Military Academy with Trump, was hard at work. On December 7, Ticktin sent a nine-page letter to Trump outlining his client’s case and requesting a pardon. Four days later, on December 11, Trump wrote on Truth Social: “Today I am granting Tina a full pardon for her attempts to expose voter fraud in the rigged 2020 presidential election.” Although Trump does not have the authority to pardon those convicted of state charges, Ticktin asserted that this applied to his client.

Peters’ legal team requested a pardon from the governor. Although Polis initially appeared unwilling to entertain the idea, he has hinted in recent weeks that he was considering commuting his sentence, which he called “harsh.”

“You look at every clemency case on its merits,” Polis recently told CBS. “You have someone who is non-violent, a first-time offender, elderly. On the other hand, is she taking full responsibility for her crime? We’re not looking at this in isolation.”

Polis’ possible change of heart has left many people in Colorado perplexed. Earlier this month, Griswold, along with a Colorado county clerk and the director of the state’s clerks’ association, sent Polis a letter urging him not to commute Peters’ sentence.

“I don’t believe that giving in to a vengeful president will stop the retaliation,” Griswold told WIRED. “Trump is a lawless president. He despises the law, he despises the Constitution, and when people don’t give in, then he starts getting revenge. I think giving in leads to more illegal actions and more outrageous actions from the president.”

“Donald Trump and I have known each other since we were 15 years old,” Ticktin told WIRED, adding that he spoke directly to the president about the matter, but said Trump’s actions were not a matter of retaliation: “By standing up to Donald Trump for something that is unreasonable, Governor Polis is bringing more attention to the state and causing the state to be more scrutinized, [but] I don’t think this is retaliation on the part of Donald Trump.”

The White House did not respond to a request for comment on whether Trump was waging a retaliatory campaign against Colorado, but instead provided a list of reasons why each action was taken, including even answers to two questions that WIRED did not raise: child care funding and disaster relief.

Colorado election clerks have already met to discuss a possible pardon of Peters and following an online meeting this month, all but one member of the Colorado County Clerks Association agreed with the wording of the letter Griswold sent to Polis.