The Colorado Department of Corrections effectively told the Trump administration to back off last week when it announced it does not plan to transfer convicted felon former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters from state prison to federal custody (Herald, Nov. 26).
This is another win for truth and justice at a time when our current president – and those who work for him – are attacking both. Last year, Peters was found guilty by a jury of her peers on seven total counts – three for attempting to influence a public official, along with charges of conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, first-degree official misconduct, violating her official duties and failing to comply with the secretary of state. She is now serving a nine-year prison sentence for those crimes.
This is not a deep-state conspiracy. The jury was made up of 12 regular people from Mesa County who voted unanimously on every count, as Colorado law requires in felony cases. The facts were clear, the evidence overwhelming and the verdict rooted firmly in reality, not politics.
That’s why the threat of Peters being transferred to federal custody was so alarming. With President Donald Trump back in office, a pardon would be more than plausible – it would be likely. Trump has already demonstrated a willingness to use presidential clemency not as a tool of mercy or fairness but as a reward for loyalty, even when individuals have committed serious crimes.
From Trump’s October commutation of former Republican Rep. George Santos’ fraud and identity-theft sentence to his pardon this week of Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar on a dozen bribery and money-laundering charges — two high-profile examples within more than 1,800 clemency actions across both terms, including over 1,600 Jan. 6 rioters — it’s a good day for the rule of law that Tina Peters will remain in Colorado, out of his reach.
And while past presidents have issued controversial pardons – Bill Clinton for Marc Rich, or Joe Biden for his son – those were isolated acts, not the sweeping, loyalty-driven use of clemency we see today.
We have Gov. Jared Polis to thank for declining to hand Peters over to federal authorities – though credit belongs even more to the Colorado County Clerks Association, whose unprecedented advocacy forced the issue into the light.
After weeks of receiving no meaningful response from the governor’s office, all 64 county clerks convened an emergency meeting on Nov. 20. Nearly every clerk in the state was on the call. They moved quickly, drafting a detailed letter (see: clerkandrecorder.org/in-the-news) that lays out exactly why transferring Peters would not only endanger election workers but undermine the foundation of Colorado’s election system.
Their Nov. 21 letter is one of the most powerful statements of professional integrity we have seen. Clerks from every political affiliation – Republican, Democrat, and unaffiliated – described how Colorado’s election safeguards worked exactly as designed. They reminded the governor that Peters was the only clerk who violated the law, the only clerk who shut off security cameras, brought in an unauthorized individual under false credentials, and misrepresented routine procedures as evidence of wrongdoing. Her actions forced Mesa County taxpayers to spend $1.4 million replacing compromised equipment and unleashed a wave of threats and harassment against clerks statewide – including credible threats against the children of at least one Republican clerk.
To these officials, releasing Peters into federal custody would have signaled that an elected official can commit felonies, undermine democracy, and still escape consequences through political favoritism. As the CCCA wrote, removing her from Colorado custody “would imply that accountability for violations of Colorado law can be negotiated or avoided, while those who acted honorably were left to face the consequences alone.”
The clerks’ stand matters because these are not public figures who seek the spotlight. They are quiet professionals who carry out one of democracy’s most essential functions. Their nearly unanimous letter – signed by all but one clerk – was an act of courage and principle.
As La Plata County Clerk Tiffany Lee told us, “I fully support the letter. I stand behind the association and the court’s decision. She is right where she needs to be.”
Colorado clerks upheld the law, protected the truth and endured threats to do so. Their unity pushed the governor to act, ensuring that a convicted felon who abused her office will remain where justice – and public safety – require her to be.
We owe them our thanks.
