Trump wants Tina Peters freed as state officials push to keep her jailed: 'She's dying and old'

WASHINGTON, DC: Former Colorado elections official Tina Peters was convicted on multiple felony charges linked to efforts to interfere with the 2020 election.

She is once again in the spotlight after President Donald Trump called for her immediate release from prison. The situation has escalated, with federal intervention requested and Colorado officials firmly resisting.

Trump’s push for Tina Peters’ release

Tina Peters remains in a Colorado prison after being convicted on seven charges last year.

A judge sentenced the former county clerk to nine years behind bars for leading a voting system data-breach scheme inspired by false claims that fraud altered the 2020 presidential election.

Recently, the Justice Department asked Colorado’s Department of Corrections to transfer her into federal custody, a request that came directly from Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who previously served as Trump’s personal attorney. 

However, the reasoning behind the request was not made clear, especially since Peters was not convicted of any federal crimes and her case was handled at the state level.

Trump appeared to confirm the motive by calling for her release. 

Taking to his Truth Social platform on Sunday, November 23, he wrote in all caps, “FREE TINA PETERS, WHO SITS IN A COLORADO PRISON, DYING & OLD, FOR ATTEMPTING TO EXPOSE VOTER FRAUD IN THE RIGGED 2020 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION!!!”

Peters’s attorney has said she is suffering a relapse of health issues while imprisoned.

In February, she had asked for release on bail while her appeal was pending, citing a decline in mental state, cognitive function, and fibromyalgia. 

Her legal team and supporters appear to hope that a move to federal custody could lead to better conditions and possibly even a case escalation to the US Supreme Court.

Colorado leaders resist Trump’s bid to free Tina Peters

Final approval for any transfer of Tina Peters to federal custody lies with Colorado’s governor, Jared Polis, a Democrat. The state’s Democratic attorney general has publicly urged Governor Polis to deny the request.

In a strongly worded statement, Colorado Secretary of State Jenna Griswold said, “Tina Peters stands alone as an example of the nefarious actions and outcomes of election denialism.”

She added that Peters was convicted by a jury “after an extensive trial” for violating state law and violating her duty as Mesa County clerk.

Griswold also emphasized that Peters’s conviction harmed her local community and broke the trust placed in her office.

Trump’s efforts to defend Peters are not isolated. They coincide with a slate of pardons announced by his so‑called clemency czar, Ed Martin, aimed at other individuals who supported the Trump campaign’s alleged effort to reverse the 2020 election.

These pardons reportedly include members of Trump’s own 2020 legal team, Rudy Giuliani, Jenna Ellis, Kenneth Chesebro, and others. 

However, there are legal limits to what Trump can do. A presidential pardon does not apply to state convictions, meaning he cannot unilaterally free Peters because her crimes were prosecuted under Colorado law.

That makes the transfer to federal custody even more critical to his supporters, as it could grant the federal government greater control over her incarceration conditions, even though her underlying convictions would remain. 

In fact, if the transfer were approved, Peters could potentially end up in very different prison circumstances, depending on which federal facility she is placed in.