Polis on Tina Peters case: "You can't give the president the headspace on this"

2 hours ago 4

During his past twelvemonth successful office, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis volition marque his last decisions connected which prisoners successful the authorities helium volition assistance clemency. Among those nether information is Tina Peters, who was convicted of aggregate felonies stemming from unauthorized accessing of voting machines, and who President Trump has repeatedly demanded beryllium acceptable free.

Peters, a erstwhile region clerk of Mesa County successful occidental Colorado and erstwhile campaigner for Colorado caput of state, was sentenced successful October 2024 to 9 years successful situation aft being convicted connected 7 of 10 authorities charges, including 3 counts of attempting to power a nationalist servant and 1 number of conspiracy to perpetrate transgression impersonation.

Polis antecedently refused to determination Peters to national custody, but has besides said precocious that helium would beryllium looking into her lawsuit successful his last year. Mr. Trump said successful December helium was granting a pardon to Peters, adjacent though the president's pardon powerfulness is wide understood to lone use to national crimes, and she was charged successful authorities court.

"You can't springiness the president the headspace connected this," Polis told "CBS Evening News" anchor Tony Dokoupil. "You look astatine each lawsuit connected clemency connected the merits. You person idiosyncratic who is nonviolent, a first-time offender, elderly. On the different hand, does she instrumentality afloat accountability for her crime? We don't look astatine this successful isolation."

Peters insisted, adjacent during her sentencing, that she did thing incorrect and was trying to forestall and observe elector fraud. There has been nary grounds of wide elector fraud successful the 2020 election, contrary to Mr. Trump's repeated claims.

"I person dozens of these requests that we look astatine regularly, and I privation to marque definite that we don't look astatine this 1 successful immoderate antithetic way," Polis said, but noted helium has not made a decision.

Polis said helium volition lone marque his determination based connected the facts of the case, "and there's immoderate that enactment successful her favor, immoderate that enactment against her."

Polis said helium has a harder clip with cases wherever radical person committed convulsive crimes.

"To fto idiosyncratic retired astatine immoderate constituent — person they made restitution? — is simply a pugnacious decision, but it's 1 that I'm ne'er acrophobic to shy distant from," helium said.