Colorado’s chief deputy attorney general asked a federal judge on Tuesday to reject the Trump administration’s unusual attempt to support a former county clerk who is in prison after backing Trump’s false claims of election fraud in 2020.
In March, the U.S. Justice Department filed a document in federal court supporting Tina Peters’ request to be released from prison while she appeals a state conviction for giving Trump supporters access to election equipment.
The Justice Department said it was reviewing whether Peters was being punished for political reasons rather than actual wrongdoing.
But Colorado Chief Deputy Attorney General Natalie Hanlon Leh told a judge in Denver that no proof of political motives had been presented. She asked Magistrate Judge Scott T. Varholak to reject the filing or at least remove the part suggesting politics played a role.
Varholak pointed out that under President Joe Biden, the Justice Department had helped investigate Peters and would have had access to relevant materials. He asked the agency to show evidence that a review was needed.
Justice Department lawyer Abigail Stout, based in Washington, said she couldn’t speak about any ongoing review and didn’t have any details about supporting evidence.
The Justice Department still asked the court to carefully consider Peters’ request for release.
Colorado, on the other hand, said the federal filing seemed like a clear political move to pressure the court or prosecutors. Varholak called the filing a “tangential issue” and asked why the state was drawing more attention to it.
Leh replied that Colorado had to defend its justice system and couldn’t stay silent, which might be seen as supporting the Justice Department’s action.
“This cannot become a new norm,” she said, with two prosecutors from Peters’ case sitting behind her.
Varholak said he would decide after confirming whether he has the authority to rule on the matter.
In August, Peters was convicted of letting someone else use a security badge to give access to the Mesa County election system. That person was linked to My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell, a strong supporter of Trump’s false claims about the election. Peters was also found guilty of lying to officials about who the person was.
A judge sentenced her in October to nine years in prison, saying she showed no remorse and kept spreading false claims about voting machines.
Peters argues that Judge Matthew Barrett violated her free speech rights by denying her bond while she appeals. She claims her actions were meant to protect election records, which she says was a federal duty.
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One as he travels from Las Vegas to MiamiJudge Barrett had earlier found Peters in contempt of court after she was accused of recording a hearing for someone said to be a co-conspirator—something she denied. That conviction was later overturned by a state appeals court in January for lack of evidence.
Peters says the district attorney, Dan Rubinstein, who is a Republican, later admitted he wasn’t sure if she recorded the hearing but still asked the judge to send her to prison for the breach of the voting system. Her lawyers say a review showed no proof of a recording.
Trump has clashed with Colorado officials before, particularly over immigration. In March, he demanded his portrait be removed from the state Capitol because he thought it made him look bad.
The Trump administration’s involvement in Peters’ case is the latest sign of its support for allies who broke the law for Trump.
Trump has pardoned over a thousand people involved in the January 6 Capitol attack. He also picked Ed Martin, a lawyer for some of those people, to serve as acting U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C.
The Justice Department recently dropped corruption charges against New York City’s Democratic mayor, Eric Adams, saying the case had been politically influenced and that Adams’ help was needed for immigration enforcement.