A few weeks ago, the White House’s efforts to help former Colorado county clerk Tina Peters reached a new level: Trump’s Federal Bureau of Prisons contacted the Colorado Department of Corrections, seeking to transfer Peters from a state prison to federal custody.
Evidently, the request was not well received. The Associated Press reported:
Colorado doesn’t plan to transfer from state prison to federal custody a former county clerk who has become a hero to election conspiracy theorists following a request from the Trump administration, state officials said Wednesday. The Colorado Department of Corrections said it is not seeking a transfer of Tina Peters, who was convicted last year of orchestrating a scheme in Mesa County to breach voting machine data driven by false claims of fraud in the 2020 election.
“Transferring an individual is an action initiated by the Colorado Department of Corrections, not an outside entity,” department spokesperson Alondra Gonzalez-Garcia told the AP.
In case anyone needs a refresher, Peters didn’t just embrace Donald Trump’s lies and conspiracy theories about his 2020 election defeat, she also acted on them, using someone’s security badge to allow a Mike Lindell associate to access county election equipment.
The apparent point of the endeavor was to leak election machinery data in pursuit of a conspiratorial plot that never existed in reality.
Not surprisingly, Peters was caught and indicted. She pleaded not guilty, but after she and her attorney struggled to present a compelling defense, a Colorado jury convicted Peters, finding her guilty of three counts of attempting to influence a public servant, one count of conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, first-degree official misconduct, violation of duty and failing to comply with the secretary of state.
Ahead of sentencing, Peters showed no remorse. A judge ultimately sentenced her to nine years behind bars.
For the president, that’s apparently not acceptable.
In early March, Trump’s Department of Justice raised eyebrows with an unexpected move: The DOJ’s civil division unexpectedly filed a brief in federal court, raising “concerns” about the criminal conviction of a former Colorado county clerk named Tina Peters.
The effort didn’t amount to much, but the president’s interest in the case didn’t fade. In May, the Republican not only called for Peters’ release from prison, he also directed the Justice Department to take “all necessary action” to help secure her freedom. As part of the same online harangue, Trump, who lacks the authority to pardon those convicted of state crimes, went on to describe Peters as a “Political Prisoner” and a “hostage” whose trial deserved to be seen as “a Communist persecution.”
In August, Trump threatened Colorado with “harsh measures” unless the state agreed to release Peters, whom he claimed had been “tortured by Crooked Colorado politicians.”
The president kept this up in September, vowing to “do something” on her behalf. He returned to the subject early last week.
Despite the Republican’s apparent interest in her case, there’s effectively nothing he can do: This was a state official, charged with state crimes, by state prosecutors, in a state court, with a state jury, overseen by a state judge, which necessarily means neither the president nor his Justice Department can overturn Peters’ criminal conviction.
Trump apparently intends to keep trying anyway, though there’s no reason to believe he’ll succeed.
For his part, Peters’ defense attorney recently told Steve Bannon that he’d like to see the president deploy U.S. military personnel to the Colorado prison where Peters is being held in order to free her. The lawyer did not appear to be kidding.
This post updates our related earlier coverage.
