Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) announced Friday he is granting clemency to Tina Peters — the former election official convicted for her role in a voting system breach — cutting her sentence and making her eligible for parole as soon as next month.
The move marks a dramatic and controversial intervention in one of the most closely watched election interference cases to emerge after the 2020 election — and comes after months of sustained pressure from President Donald Trump and his far-right allies to secure Peters’ release.
“We condemn Governor Polis’ clemency grant. It is a gross injustice to our elections, election workers and democracy with far-reaching consequences,” Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold (D) said in a statement. “This is a dark day for democracy.”
It actually wasn’t harsh though. MAGA is just pretending like it was because they’re pissed that one of them had to face any kind of consequences for their criminal behavior. The maximum penalty allowed by statute for each count she was convicted on was double what she actually got. Despite her showing absolutely zero remorse or contrition, the judge still gave her half the sentence they could have.
I can’t imagine why Polis would ever think pardoning her was a good idea, but I suspect he’s looking ahead to when he leaves office next year, and this is the beginning of his heel turn into becoming a right-wing grifter.