Outrage as Dem eyes helping Trump spring convicted ally: 'Grave miscarriage of justice'
Colorado's Democratic Gov. Jared Polis hinted that he may free election conspiracy figure and Trump ally Tina Peters, calling her nine-year prison sentence "harsh" and suggesting he's "looking at" revisiting it — despite pleas from top state officials to keep her locked up.
In an explosive CBS Colorado interview late Thursday, Polis mused about the threat the 70-year-old Peters poses to society:
“She got a sentence that was harsh. It was a nine-year sentence,” Polis said. “So we always look at people’s sentences. And when you have people that are elderly, and we’re looking at this across a number of many people — people in their 70s or 80s in our system — how much of a threat to society are they, and how do we balance that in a way that makes sure they can spend their last year few years at home?”
The 70-year-old Peters sits in Pueblo prison after being convicted of sneaking election conspiracy operatives into Mesa County's voting machines. Trump has tried unsuccessfully to pardon her.
State officials are furious. Secretary of State Jena Griswold blasted any move to free her.
“Tina Peters has done more to undermine confidence in our elections than any other Coloradan, and is rightly facing accountability for the harm she has caused to election workers, our democracy, and state,” Griswold said Friday in a statement to The Denver Post. “I am deeply concerned at any indication of caving to this unhinged President.”
Attorney General Phil Weiser's office warned that reducing her sentence would be "a grave miscarriage of justice."
County Clerk Association chief Matt Crane suggested Polis is "setting the table to do something." The governor could issue a commutation, reducing her sentence while keeping the conviction.
Peters has vowed social media revenge against the prison.