Presidential Pardon Power

Attorneys for former Mesa County, Colorado clerk Tina Peters filed a December 23 motion asking a Colorado appellate court to order her release from state prison and to recognize President Donald Trump’s early‑December 2025 pardon as wiping out her state convictions for election‑system breaches. Peters, serving a nine‑year sentence after her October 2024 conviction on state charges including official misconduct and conspiracy for allowing unauthorized access to voting equipment, argues that Trump’s pardon covers both federal and state offenses, while Colorado officials maintain a president cannot pardon state crimes and dispute the court’s jurisdiction if the pardon is valid.