KRDO13 Exclusive: Tina Peters’ lawyer speaks about her reaction to Pres. Trump’s pardon
Editor's Note: A previous version of this article quoted Peters's attorney as saying that she was currently in solitary confinement. The Colorado Department of Corrections says that none of its facilities have solitary confinement. Her attorney affirms that while it is not defined as "solitary confinement," she has no interaction with other inmates, including during recreation or meal time.
PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) - Right now, Tina Peters is sitting in the La Vista Correctional Facility in Pueblo.
Peter Tickten is currently one of Peters' lawyers, representing her as she appeals her Mesa County conviction. Tickten says he spoke to her on the phone Thursday night.
"Tina is a woman of faith, and she's thankful, thankful to God. She's thankful to Donald Trump," Tickten said during a video interview with KRDO13 Investigates.
Peters is currently serving a nine-year sentence handed down in October 2024 for her role in a data-breach scheme she claimed aimed to prove widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election.
Peters was convicted after giving a person affiliated with MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell access to the election software. Photos of the software then circulated on right-wing websites, according to ABC News.
However, Tickten believes her days in prison are numbered. On Thursday evening, President Donald Trump posted to Truth Social that he had pardoned Peters.
"(The pardon is) not symbolic at all. It's a real pardon. It's got teeth," Tickten said, and then added he wants the courts to make a final ruling on it.
While President Trump only announced the pardon on Thursday, the Department of Justice website states that an official pardon was signed by him on Dec. 5.
However, that is proving to be a unique reading of the law in Colorado. Multiple elected officials have come out and said that the President's pardon power does not extend to convictions for state crimes.
“Tina Peters was convicted by a jury of her peers, prosecuted by a Republican District Attorney, and in a Republican county of Colorado, and found guilty of violating Colorado state laws, including criminal impersonation. No President has jurisdiction over state law nor the power to pardon a person for state convictions. This is a matter for the courts to decide, and we will abide by court orders.”
-Colorado Governor Jared Polis (D)
Previously published legal articles from the American Bar Association agree. "There is a strong consensus among legal experts that a president cannot pardon someone for a state offense," reads one article published in 2020.
Previous reporting by Abby Smith contributed to this report.
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