President Trump is again handing out pardons that don't actually change anyone's sentence. The POTUS on Thursday announced on Truth Social that he is granting a "full Pardon" to Tina Peters, the ex-Mesa County, Colo., clerk serving a nine-year state prison term over tampering with her county's voting machines, NBC News reports. Because Peters was convicted on state charges—four felonies and three misdemeanors—Trump has no legal authority to wipe away her conviction or free her from prison; presidential pardon power extends only to federal crimes.
Trump framed Peters, who spread false claims about the 2020 presidential election, as a victim of partisan prosecution, calling her "a Patriot who simply wanted to make sure that our Elections were Fair and Honest" and claiming she is in prison "for the 'crime' of demanding Honest Elections" and trying to expose fraud in what he again labeled the "Rigged 2020 Presidential Election." Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser responded that the notion a president can pardon a person 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." The state's governor, the only person with the power to actually pardon and release Peters, echoed that sentiment, CNN reports.
Peters' case stems from her role in allowing an outside, pro-Trump operative tied to MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell to access secure county election equipment involving Dominion Voting Systems. That access, which she granted by using someone else's security badge, led to images from the machines being published online, CBS News reports. A federal judge this week rejected Peters' bid to be released from prison while she appeals her conviction. Trump has previously threatened "harsh measures" if Colorado doesn't free Peters.
The move continues a pattern of largely symbolic clemency gestures from Trump toward allies involved in efforts to overturn the 2020 results. Last month he announced similar "pardons" for Rudy Giuliani and dozens of others, including lawyers Sidney Powell, John Eastman, and Kenneth Chesebro, and former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows—almost all of whom are facing, or have faced, state-level charges or disciplinary actions beyond a president's formal reach.
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