Colorado Appeals Court to Decide if Trump’s Pardon Can Free Convicted Clerk
Colorado is locked in a legal and political confrontation with President Donald Trump over his attempt to pardon a jailed state official and what Democrats call retaliatory federal actions.
Trump’s symbolic pardon of former Mesa County clerk Tina Peters, who is serving a nine-year sentence for orchestrating a 2020 election system breach, has not freed her and now her lawyers are asking a Colorado appeals court to enforce it.
State leaders say the pardon doesn’t apply to state convictions, because presidential pardon power traditionally only applies to federal offenses, setting up a constitutional tug-of-war between Denver and Washington.
Peters was convicted in 2024 on multiple felony counts related to a data breach driven by false claims of election fraud. Despite Trump’s proclamation of a pardon, prison officials refused to release her, and her defenders have filed legal motions arguing historical precedent supports their claim.
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At the same time, Colorado’s U.S. senators, including John Hickenlooper, have blocked a Senate appropriations package to defend the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder from Trump administration plans to dismantle or cut funding, a move they say risks jobs and national science capacity.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis also publicly criticized the administration for denying disaster relief after wildfires and flooding, calling it political gamesmanship.
“The idea that a president could pardon someone tried and convicted in state court … would not hold up,” Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said.
The appeals court is expected to hear arguments in January, and congressional negotiations over NCAR and disaster aid are poised to remain contentious.
What happens next could redefine state-federal limits on pardons and shape federal funding battles in 2026.
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