The Justice Department is reviewing prosecution of Colorado clerks who support Trump’s election

Denver (AP) – The Justice Department is supporting a former county election clerk in Colorado who was convicted for allowing supporters of President Donald Trump to obtain confidential data on the 2020 election, the latest move by the administration to use its power to reward allies who violate presidential laws.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Yaakov M. Roth filed a document in federal court in Colorado this week in support of the request of former Mesa County clerk Tina Peters, who asked the federal court to appeal a national belief in the 2021 election security violations while she liberated her from prison. Ross wrote that “reasonable concerns” were raised about Peters’ prosecution and that the government is reviewing “abuse of criminal justice procedures” nationwide.

Peters has become a celebrity for those who embrace Trump’s lies because he lost the 2020 election for fraud. Her supporters have been pushing the new Republican administration to put pressure on Colorado Democratic Gov. Jared Polis to pardon her.

The Trump Justice Department’s intervention in the Peters case marks a new stage in which the administration uses the federal government to promote the president’s political interests. By participating in state-level prosecutions, the Justice Department’s step is more unusual in cases filed by Colorado-elected Republican prosecutors than before in favor of the president’s agenda.

Earlier, Trump pardoned more than a thousand convictions in the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. He appointed some defendant Ed Martin’s attorney, who had worked as a U.S. attorney in the District of Columbia. After that, Martin threatened to investigate Democratic politicians and others who criticized the Trump administration for cutting costs. The Justice Department has also taken corruption allegations against New York Democratic Mayor Eric Adams, arguing that they are also contaminated by “weaponization” and that the government needs Adams’ cooperation in immigration enforcement efforts.

“The Trump Justice Department’s decision to review the conviction of Tina Peters’ attempt to compromise on his election equipment is a sign that the Trump administration is working to rewrite history and normalize fake election conspiracies,” said Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold. “Shame of their armed legal system pushing their election lies.”

Mesa County’s election violation allows sensitive information about the county’s voting system, which can be used across the country. Experts described the violation as serious, saying it could provide a “practice environment” that would allow anyone to explore the vulnerability that could be exploited during future elections.

At the time of the judgment, Magistrate Matthew Barrett had harsh words on Peters: “You are not a hero. You abused your position, and you are Charlatan.”

Peters, 69, was sentenced to nine years in prison. She argued that it was her responsibility to retain election data before upgrading the voting system and should not be prosecuted for the execution of the work. Earlier this year, she filed a final appeal in federal court, asking the judge to order her bail when the appeal is pending. Her lawyer noted that she was being monitored for recurrence of lung cancer and said she lost weight and had memory problems while incarcerated.

Peters was still in the Larimer County Jail 60 miles north of Denver on Tuesday. She will be sentenced to six months in prison for misdemeanors and then transferred to state prison to serve more than eight years in the voting machine case, according to a federal court application.

Peters’ attorney John Case did not comment immediately Tuesday.

Ross said in a federal application that Peters had received a “very long sentence relative to controversial conduct” and urged a federal judge to consider Peters’ request in hopes of issuing it in her court appeal.

Explaining why the Justice Department reviewed Peters’ case, Ross said the agency plans to assess whether state prosecutions are “oriented to exerting political pain rather than pursuing actual justice or legitimate government goals.”

The case was prosecuted by District Attorney Daniel P. Rubinstein, a Republican who has held the position since 2015. An email and phone call sought Rubenstein’s comment and did not return immediately.

Lawrence Norden, an election security expert at the Brennan Justice Center, said the case against Peters was a “publicly closed case of formal misconduct.”

“The Justice Department’s statement comes after the government demolished many federal governments to protect the integrity of our elections, conveying a terrible message to election officials and the wider community about the government’s position in election security,” Norden said.

Since returning to power, the Trump administration has taken several steps to undermine election security. In recent weeks, the Department of Homeland Security has suspended all election-related work and has at least 17 employees working for the U.S. cybersecurity and infrastructure security agencies, awaiting review. It also ended its participation with a volunteer program that shares information with state and local election officials and provides cybersecurity resources.

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Colleen Slevin of Denver contributed to the report.