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Did any new evidence, pardons, or clemency efforts emerge for Tina Peters in 2025?
Executive summary
In 2025 multiple developments touched Tina Peters’ case: the U.S. Department of Justice under the Trump administration said it would review her Colorado conviction and later the DOJ and White House pushed steps aimed at her release, while clemency and pardon authority remained with Colorado Gov. Jared Polis — who had not publicly granted clemency and whose office said Peters had not applied as of early May [1] [2] [3]. Supporters urged a presidential pardon, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, but legal experts and Colorado officials noted a presidential pardon cannot erase state convictions [4] [5] [6].
1. New “federal review” and DOJ involvement — what changed in 2025
In March 2025 the Trump Justice Department announced it would review Peters’ state conviction, a move the Guardian described as the department “review[ing] the Colorado conviction” of the former Mesa County clerk who was serving a nine‑year sentence [1]. That federal interest escalated into public pressure and interventions: by May 2025 President Trump publicly directed the U.S. Department of Justice to “take all necessary action” to secure her release [2]. The Hill and related reporting later showed the administration was exploring more concrete steps, including seeking transfer of Peters from state to federal custody — a procedural route federal actors hoped might affect her detention while her appeals played out [7] [8].
2. Pardons vs. clemency — who can actually free her?
Multiple outlets and legal officials made the same legal distinction: because Peters was convicted in state court, only Colorado’s governor has the authority to pardon or commute her sentence; a presidential pardon would not reverse her state conviction or end her state prison term [5] [6]. CPR reporting and statements from the governor’s office reinforced that Gov. Jared Polis receives clemency petitions and must follow Colorado’s statutory process; at points in 2025 the governor’s office said Peters had not applied for clemency [2] [3].
3. Political pressure, public campaigns, and inbox deluge
A broad public and political campaign for clemency unfolded in 2025: CPR obtained nearly 900 pages of messages to Gov. Polis urging leniency for Peters between Nov. 5 and May 1, many from out-of-state supporters [9]. Republican figures including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene urged Trump to pardon Peters publicly, amplifying calls at the federal level despite legal limits on what a president can do for state convictions [4]. Editorial and opinion voices were split — some arguing for commutation and others urging the governor not to pardon [10] [11].
4. New evidence claims and legal filings
Peters’ legal team and supporters publicized materials they called “new evidence” during 2025, including depositions and forensic claims the defense argued were important to her habeas petition and appeals; news coverage notes those claims echoed long-standing assertions about voting systems that courts have not accepted as exculpatory [12] [13]. At the same time, critics and prosecutors have characterized some of these new materials as reiterations of previously debunked claims; reporting emphasizes courts require exhaustion of state remedies before federal habeas relief, a high procedural bar [12] [14].
5. Transfers, custody disputes, and the federal route
By November 2025 reporting shows a formal step — the Federal Bureau of Prisons sent the Colorado Department of Corrections a request or letter about Peters’ custody, signaling federal interest in transferring her into federal custody where different processes might apply [15] [8]. State prosecutors and the Colorado attorney general warned that federal moves could be an attempt to circumvent the limitation that the president cannot pardon state convictions, urging Polis and state officials to resist a transfer perceived as politically motivated [16] [17].
6. Limitations in the reporting and competing narratives
Coverage is divided: outlets report both the DOJ’s unusual involvement (and Trump’s public demands) and state officials’ insistence that only Colorado can grant clemency [1] [2]. Some pro‑Peters sites and commentators claim mistreatment or withheld evidence, but several mainstream outlets note courts have not accepted those claims and that procedural hurdles remain [18] [13]. Available sources do not mention a completed pardon or commutation in 2025; they do show active federal interest, public campaigns, and at least one formal federal request related to custody [2] [8] [9].
Bottom line: 2025 brought heightened federal involvement, public and political pressure for clemency, and assertions of “new evidence,” but the legal reality reported across outlets is that only Colorado’s governor can grant clemency for state convictions — and no governor‑issued pardon/commutation was reported in 2025 [5] [2] [3].