‘I’m not going to be intimidated’: Colorado attorney general says Trump administration cannot free Tina Peters

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said Wednesday that the federal government has no standing to free former Mesa County clerk Tina Peters from jail.

“We have our own system,” Weiser said in an interview with Colorado Matters. “This is what our constitution calls federalism. We enforce our criminal laws and the federal government can't hijack that system. They have to honor it. We are a separate sovereign.”

Peters was found guilty last August by a jury of Mesa County residents on seven counts, including four felonies, after she helped facilitate unauthorized access to county voting equipment that she was supposed to safeguard in search of voter fraud. She was sentenced to nine years in prison. 

Earlier this month, however, President Donald Trump said he was directing the Department of Justice to “take all necessary action to help secure the release of (Peters).,” Trump also referred to her as a hostage that was “being held in a Colorado prison by the Democrats, for political reasons.”

In his interview with Ryan Warner, Weiser, whose office helped try Peters, said that wasn’t the case, adding her prosecution was a bipartisan effort.

“Dan Rubenstein from Mesa County is the local (district attorney); he’s a Republican,” Weiser said. “There is nothing, as Dan Rubenstein has explained, about this prosecution that was political.”

“It was about the rule of law. It was about defending the integrity of elections and making sure that someone who takes an oath to operate in a legitimate and legal fashion doesn't undermine the oath of office, doesn't break the law that was tried to a jury of her peers.”

The Justice Department submitted a filing in federal court in March supporting Peters’ bid for freedom. There has been virtually no movement in the case, however.

Weiser said  Peters’ appeal in Colorado won’t be affected by the Trump administration’s recent actions.

“There's going to be appeals in state court. We're handling that work and we're going to handle it with integrity and commit to the rule of law,” Weiser said. “And we're not going to be intimidated by the administration that has shown a disregard for the rule of law and a willingness to try to essentially use fear tactics.

“I'm not going to be intimidated. I'm not going to be afraid. I'm going to defend the rule of law.”