Trump Says He Is Pardoning Former Colorado County Clerk Tina Peters

Colorado officials say the pardon is invalid because Tina Peters was convicted under state law and the president may grant pardons only for federal offenses.

Mesa County clerk Tina Peters at a rally in Denver on April 5, 2022. David Zalubowski/AP Photo

President Donald Trump said on Dec. 11 that he is pardoning Tina Peters, a former Colorado county clerk convicted of election machine tampering in the aftermath of the disputed 2020 election.

The presidential pardon of the Republican former officeholder appears to be symbolic.

The Pardons Clause of the U.S. Constitution says the president has the power to “grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States.” The clause also allows presidents to grant preemptive pardons to individuals who have not yet been convicted of federal offenses.

Peters was convicted in Colorado state court in August 2024 of election-related charges, such as allowing unauthorized access to voting machines, and sentenced to nine years of incarceration.

Peters previously said on her website that her efforts as Mesa County clerk were aimed at upholding election integrity by “creating a forensic backdrop” of a county election server.

Trump wrote in a Truth Social post that Peters is incarcerated in a Colorado prison “for the ‘crime’ of demanding Honest Elections.”

“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.”

Peters is “a Patriot who simply wanted to make sure that our Elections were Fair and Honest,” who is in prison “for the ‘crime’ of demanding Honest Elections,” the president wrote.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, said the presidential pardon was invalid in Peters’s case.

Peters was convicted by a jury of breaking Colorado state laws, Polis wrote on X after Trump made his announcement.

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser also said the presidential pardon was not legally binding.

“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,” Weiser said in a statement.

“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,” he said.

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani offered a possible rationale for Trump’s pardon of Peters.

“While Tina is currently in state prison, the pardon ensures the federal government cannot pursue federal charges and gives renewed focus and attention to Tina’s story,” Giuliani wrote on X.

Although Giuliani has not been convicted of any federal offenses, Trump preemptively pardoned him last month in connection with his efforts to challenge the 2020 presidential election results. Giuliani oversaw the 2020 Trump campaign’s legal efforts to contest the election.