Trump Claims Federal Pardon for Colorado Election Clerk Tina Peters, Sparking Constitutional Fight Over State Convictions

Trump issued a pardon for Tina Peters on December 5, 2025, the former Mesa County, Colorado clerk sentenced to nine years for orchestrating a 2021 voting machine breach to copy election data for false 2020 fraud claims. Colorado officials immediately challenged the pardon, arguing federal pardon power cannot reach state convictions under dual sovereignty. Corrections officials refused to release Peters, triggering one of the most significant constitutional confrontations over pardon scope in modern history.