Overview
- President Donald Trump used a Truth Social post to curse Colorado Governor Jared Polis and Mesa County District Attorney Dan Rubinstein and to demand the release of Tina Peters.
- Tina Peters, a former Mesa County clerk, is serving a nine-year sentence after a 2024 conviction on state charges tied to an election system security breach following the 2020 election.
- The Colorado Court of Appeals set an expedited schedule, ordering the attorney general’s response by January 8 and scheduling oral arguments for January 14.
- Peters’ lawyers argue Trump’s December 5 ‘full pardon’ voids state authority over her case, while officials including Polis say presidential clemency does not reach state convictions.
- Rubinstein rebuked Trump’s claims as lacking facts and law, and local reporting notes Trump has recently vetoed a Colorado water project and taken other punitive actions as the dispute escalates.