Mesa County District Attorney responds to Trump’s pardon for Tina Peters

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KJCT) - After President Trump announced a pardon for Tina Peters on December 11, Mesa County District Attorney Dan Rubinstein said the pardon is symbolic and would not change her state sentence.

“President Trump issued a pardon for Tina Peters, the former clerk and recorder of Mesa County. That’s a symbolic gesture,” Rubinstein said. “He’s the president of the United States, which means he has the authority as the top executive official to pardon federal crimes, but only Governor Polis has the authority, or only the governor has the authority to pardon state crimes.”

Rubinstein said he was not surprised by the pardon. He said he had seen a pardon request from one of Peters’ attorneys and noted legal arguments that attempted to create a federal basis for the president’s action.

“I was aware that there was a request from one of Ms. Peters’ lawyers for him to do this. He cited some novel legal theory stating that because there was a federal nexus to what she did specifically, that she was required to protect election records under federal law, that he had the authority to pardon her. Unfortunately, that’s just simply not the Constitution,” Rubinstein said, adding that President Trump himself had acknowledged limits to his authority in a prior Oval Office interview a couple months ago.

Rubinstein also disputed the argument that Peters’ conduct was necessary to protect election integrity.

“None of the crimes that Ms. Peters committed were necessary for her to protect election records. She could have made a before and after image of the computer without lying to state officials, without lying to county officials, without stealing the identity of the local individual, the local computer science worker that they were going to hire or claim they were going to hire in order for him to get credentials. So really none of these offenses have really anything to do with her required duties as a county elected official,” he said.

Background: In October 2024, Peters was sentenced to nine years in connection with a breach of election equipment that occurred in 2021. She was convicted on multiple state charges, including counts related to attempting to influence a public servant, conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, first-degree official misconduct, violation of duty and failing to comply with guidance from the Colorado Secretary of State.

Rubinstein cautioned that while the president’s pardon may undercut any federal prosecutions tied to the case, it does not block state-level enforcement. “There are state offenses that can be brought against people who commit these offenses,” he said, noting that those prosecutions would not be affected by presidential action.

We reached out to the White House for comment and had not received a response as of publication.