Federal Judge Scratches Head at Unprecedented Bail Request From Tina Peters

On Tuesday, July 22, an attorney for former Mesa County clerk Tina Peters petitioned a federal magistrate judge to grant Peters release on bond pending her state appeal on four felonies and three misdemeanors related to a voting machine data breach in 2021. If approved, it would have been an unprecedented move of federal intervention in a state's justice system.

A Mesa County jury convicted Peters on the charges last year, and President Donald Trump and his administration have been doing their damndest to usurp the State of Colorado jurisdiction over the case in seeking Peters' release. Peters, a vocal Trump supporter, has propagated the lie that the 2020 presidential election was stolen, resulting in a win by Joe Biden.

Peters is a 2020 presidential election denier who used her office to allow an associate of pillow hustler Mike Lindell to access county election equipment. To the dismay of Trump and other members of Peters' fan club, she was tried and convicted in Colorado under state statutes, and the DOJ has no authority over the state's justice system. In March, the Department of Justice filed a statement of interest in the case, saying it would review if the case against Peters was "oriented more toward inflicting political pain" than pursuing justice.

"What appears 'politically motivated' — and a grotesque attempt to weaponize the rule of law — is the very statement the United States has filed," Colorado Attorney General Weiser wrote a response to the DOJ's court brief in March. "It appears the United States’ true interest in this matter is to advocate for a party who has very publicly promoted the 2020 election conspiracy theories of the sitting President, not to address the relevant issue before this Court."

Peters' attorney, Peter Ticktin, told Chief Magistrate Judge Scott Varholak that his client was in prison "because of a fear that she's a danger to society because of what she might say," insisting she was in jail "on a white-collar situation" and doesn't belong in jail alongside murderers.

However, Varholak was not convinced it was in his purview as a federal magistrate to release Peters on bond for a state charge. Varholak said he found no instance ever where a federal court intervened to release an inmate on bond pending a state court appeal.

In fact, Varholak said he didn't know how such a scenario would work, or who would revoke the bond if it were violated. The Colorado Court of Appeals previously denied Peters request for bond pending her appeal of the state case. Varholak cannot grant Peters bond as a magistrate judge, but will make a recommendation in the case to a district judge after Varholak receives further briefings from the parties over the next month.

Arguing against Peters' legal staff was Senior Assistant Attorney General Lisa K. Michaels, who cited a 1971 U.S. Supreme Court decision, Younger v. Harris, which says federal courts should not intervene in ongoing state criminal proceedings. Judge Varholak ordered Peters' team and its opponents from the A.G.'s office to submit briefs addressing the implications of that Supreme Court decision before he makes his recommendation to the district judge.

The Colorado Court of Appeals is currently reviewing Peters' appeal.

Earlier this year, the Department of Justice demanded Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold turn over "all records" related to the 2024 federal elections. The move was widely interpreted as further pressure on the state to reconsider Peters' case, although her name isn't mentioned in the DOJ's letter to the state.

Maybe the latest court developments will discussed on Joe Oltmann's podcast, on which Peters previously appeared from a cell in a the Mesa County Detention Center, sometimes several times a week.

This article was updated on July 25 to correct a headline stating the federal magistrate had denied Tina Peters' request for bail. The request is still under review.