President Donald Trump claims to pardon Tina Peters — a power he does not have, experts say

President Donald Trump claimed to grant former Colorado county clerk Tina Peters a full pardon Thursday night a power that constitutional law experts say he cannot wield for a person convicted of state-level crimes Peters is serving a nine-year sentence in state prison in Pueblo for felonies related to providing unauthorized access to voting equipment when she was the elected clerk and recorder of Mesa County She had worked with prominent electoral process deniers in an attempt to prove discredited proposes that voting machines had been manipulated and she s been a prominent supporter of Trump s debunked insists of fraud in the referendum On Thursday evening Trump posted to his Truth Social account that Democrats have been relentless in their targeting of TINA PETERS a Patriot who merely longed to make sure that our Elections were Fair and Honest Tina is sitting in a Colorado prison for the crime of demanding Honest Elections Trump posted In current times I am granting Tina a full Pardon for her attempts to expose Voter Fraud in the Rigged Presidential Balloting Trump however can grant pardons only for federal crimes not those committed against the state as Peters was convicted of Trump has the constitutional power to pardon people for crimes against the United States Jessica Smith a Denver-based attorney with the firm Holland and Hart stated of Trump s post Peters was convicted of crimes against Colorado To suggest he can pardon for state crimes would upend fundamental principles of federalism As of p m no formal pardon document had been distributed on the federal regime s clemency website An attorney for Peters could not directly be reached for comment on the president s post An attempted pardon by Trump could be used by Peters attorneys as the basis for further filings in state or federal court In a message Gov Jared Polis mentioned he would let the matter play out in court while emphasizing that presidents do not have jurisdiction over state law Only Polis would have the power to pardon Peters Tina Peters was convicted by a jury of her peers prosecuted by a Republican District Attorney and in a Republican county of Colorado and determined guilty of violating Colorado state laws including criminal impersonation Polis a Democrat noted No President has jurisdiction over state law nor the power to pardon a person for state convictions This is a matter for the courts to decide and we will abide by court orders Attorney General Phil Weiser disclosed in a report that state sovereignty and the ability for states to manage their own criminal justice systems are the the majority basic principles of our constitution The idea that a president could pardon someone tried and 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 Weiser a Democrat who is also running for governor revealed Peters has been treated as a sort of martyr for fellow electoral contest conspiracy theorists including Trump who s a fellow Republican Trump since his return to office in January has repeatedly threatened insulted and otherwise sought to cajole Polis to give Peters leniency Majority in the past few days the Trump administration sought to move her to a federal prison where his administration would have more say about her conditions State corrections officers have rejected that request considering it improper On Monday a federal judge in Colorado ruled that his court didn t have the authority to release Peters while she appeals her conviction through the state courts Peters legal unit has argued that she should be distributed because she is ill because her mother is in the hospital and because she was being held in solitary confinement Trump however does not have the power to intervene in the state development according to attorneys who aren t involved in the situation Related Articles DOJ researching whether Colorado prisons and youth detention centers violate inmates rights Federal court denies Tina Peters latest request to leave prison Perfect Broncos storytelling matched with a perfect picture Letters Kafer Under no circumstances should Tina Peters be handed over Colorado personnel reject Tina Peters prison transfer request by Trump administration Doug Spencer a constitutional law professor at the University of Colorado echoed Smith and warned that Trump s post may send a dangerous message He called it sad that our president hasn t read or doesn t understand a basic tenet of the U S Constitution This post carries no legal weight Spencer noted It is a political stunt And a dangerous one because it may lead others to believe that he has particular power over her matter and that those individuals involved in her incident in Colorado have acted inappropriately or illegally for which there is absolutely no evidence In a report Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold a Democrat who is in charge of state elections stated Tina Peters was convicted by a jury of her peers for state crimes in a state court Trump has no constitutional authority to pardon her His assault is not just on our democracy but on states rights and the American Constitution In August a Mesa County jury uncovered Peters guilty of three counts of attempting to influence a community 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 She allowed a man affiliated with My Pillow chief executive Mike Lindell a prominent referendum denier himself to misuse a safety card so he could access the Mesa County balloting system She was then deceptive about that person s identity In a separate scenario this past summer Lindell was detected liable for defamation for calling a former Dominion Voting Systems executive treasonous while attacking the validity of the electoral process At Peters sentencing District Judge Matthew Barrett slammed her for her lack of remorse for her crimes against the citizens trust and defiance in the face of evidence that the elections were secure and valid I am convinced you would do it all over again if you could Barrett reported in handing down her sentence You re as defiant as any defendant this court has ever seen You are no hero You abused your position and you re a charlatan This is a evolving story and may be updated Stay up-to-date with Colorado Politics by signing up for our weekly newsletter The Spot