DENVER — Vice President JD Vance held Tina Peters up as a shining example of someone who should be compensated under the Trump administration's newly created $1.8 billion "Anti-Weaponization Fund.”
“This innocent grandmother was going to spend 10 years in prison, completely disproportionate to any misdemeanor trespassing that I have ever seen. Was that fair, no? Is it reasonable to get some compensation for the fact that she was treated unfairly? I think the answer was yes,” Vance said during a press conference on Tuesday.
Tina Peters was convicted in 2024 of allowing an unauthorized person to download software from Mesa County’s election management server’s hard drive. Confidential images of the voting system's equipment and passwords were published online.
On Friday, Gov. Jared Polis commuted her nine-year sentence by cutting it in half and granting her parole on June 1.
On Monday, the Trump administration announced the creation of the nearly $1.8 billion compensation fund to allow people who believe they were prosecuted for political purposes to seek compensation.
Democrats have called the fund corrupt and unconstitutional.
Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet vows to fight the fund.
“Vice President Vance is invoking Tina Peters as if she's some sort of political prisoner rather than somebody who's been convicted of serious felonies for abusing her office. You can see where the president is going to try to take advantage of this situation,” Bennet said.
Meanwhile, the political fallout for Polis continues.
More than 400 Democrats have signed a formal party complaint against Polis, and the number is counting.
Polis' office sent Denver7 the following statement in response to the complaint:
“The Governor appreciates that many in his party disagree with him and are disappointed, but ultimately he made the decision he felt was right, not popular, and agreed with an Appellate Court’s finding that the State of Colorado violated her 1st Amendment Rights, and wanted an expeditious remedy to that Constitutional violation rather than likely waiting years for lengthy court appeals and delays. One of the great things about the Democratic Party is that we are a big tent, and there is space to debate and disagree. No clemency decision should be granted based only on whether it will be popular. The Governor is often attacked on clemency decisions, but is a deep believer in mercy. No matter what, the Governor will continue to fight to make life better for every Coloradan.”
In the midst of the political fallout from this controversial decision, Bennet told Denver7 on Tuesday that Polis called him to say he was not interested in his Senate seat if Bennet is elected Governor.
“I think the decision about Tina Peters, obviously, would have been disqualifying, but I think he knew that. I think he had his reasons for making the decision that he did. I just disagree with it fundamentally,” Bennet said.
Polis is term-limited from running as governor again and has not laid out his plans for the future. Bennet is running for governor; if elected, he would choose his successor in the Senate.
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