By Gabe WhisnantShareNewsweek is a Trust Project memberFormer Colorado elections clerk Tina Peters is asking a state appeals court to recognize a pardon issued by President Donald Trump as valid and to order her release from prison, raising a novel legal argument that challenges long-standing limits on presidential clemency.
In a motion filed Tuesday, Peters’ attorneys argued that the Colorado Court of Appeals no longer has jurisdiction over her case because of a pardon Trump issued December 5. They said the pardon should nullify her state convictions and require her immediate release from custody.
Why It Matters
Peters, the former clerk of Mesa County, was convicted of state crimes for orchestrating a data breach of the county’s election system, an effort driven by false claims that voting machines were manipulated during the 2020 presidential election. Legal scholars have widely said that a president’s pardon power applies only to federal offenses and does not extend to state crimes.
...What To Know
In their filing, Peters’ lawyers pointed to an unusual historical example, arguing that President George Washington issued pardons in 1795 to individuals convicted of both state and federal offenses following the Whiskey Rebellion. They urged the appeals court to act quickly, noting that oral arguments in Peters’ appeal of her conviction are scheduled for January 14.
On Wednesday, the appeals court ordered attorneys from the Colorado attorney general’s office, which is defending Peters’ conviction, to respond to the motion by January 8.
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser’s office previously dismissed the validity of Trump’s pardon when it was announced earlier this month.
If the appeals court rejects Peters’ argument, one of her attorneys, Peter Ticktin, said she could ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review the issue even as the state court continues to consider her appeal. Another attorney, John Case, separately asked the state prison system to release Peters based on the pardon, but that request was denied, according to an email included in the court filing.
Earlier this month, Peters also failed to secure her release in federal court while her state appeal proceeds.
Peters was sentenced in October 2024 to nine years in prison. At sentencing, Judge Matthew Barrett called her a “charlatan” and said she posed a danger to the community by spreading false claims about election fraud and undermining public trust in democratic institutions.
Peters has remained defiant, insisting that her actions were motivated by what she believed was a duty to expose election wrongdoing. She has argued that the judge violated her First Amendment rights by punishing her for voicing claims about election fraud.
Prosecutors said Peters allowed a man to misuse a security badge to access Mesa County’s election system and then misled investigators about his identity. The man had ties to MyPillow chief executive Mike Lindell, a prominent promoter of false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump.
What People Are Saying
The office of Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser previously dismissed Trump's pardon: “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."
In a post to Truth Social last week, Trump said, "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. Democrats were also far too happy to let in the worst from the worst countries so they could rip off American Taxpayers. 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 that wanted Safe and Secure Elections.
"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. Tina is sitting in a Colorado prison for the 'crime' of demanding Honest Elections. Today I am granting Tina a full Pardon for her attempts to expose Voter Fraud in the Rigged 2020 Presidential Election!"
What Happens Next
The appeals court has not yet ruled on whether Trump’s pardon has any legal effect on Peters’ state convictions.
Updates: 12/24/25, 6:50 p.m. ET: This article was updated with new information and remarks.
This article includes reporting by the Associated Press.
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