Colorado’s attorney general, Phil Weiser, accused the Trump administration of waging a “revenge campaign” after federal actions that he and his attorneys say penalized Colorado for refusing to comply with President Donald Trump’s demands tied to convicted elections clerk Tina Peters.
Weiser’s amended lawsuit, filed Thursday, adds other federal changes impacting Colorado and links them to Peters’ incarceration, according to the court filing described by the state. The lawsuit comes after Trump unsuccessfully pushed Colorado to release Peters, who was convicted in state court in connection with a data breach scheme that, prosecutors said, was driven by false claims about fraud surrounding Trump’s loss in Colorado’s 2020 election.
In Thursday’s filing, state attorneys said, “The purpose is clear: to coerce Colorado to end mail-in voting and to release Tina Peters from prison.” They added, “When the threats alone did not work, the Trump Administration followed through, employing various punishments against Colorado for its exercise of sovereign powers,” as they argued that federal steps were used to pressure the state.
The filing and lawsuit also reflect Trump’s broader agenda for the state’s election administration. The AP report said Trump has pushed for Colorado to change its mail-in voting system, which he has claimed makes it impossible for a Republican to win an otherwise “very winnable state.” The report also said experts have said Colorado’s mail-in system is safe, secure and legal, and that mail-in voting gives neither party an advantage.
As of Thursday, the administration had not formally responded to the claims in the lawsuit, according to the report. A White House spokeswoman declined to say whether there was a connection between recent federal spending decisions in Colorado and Peters’ case. In an email, spokeswoman Abigail Jackson wrote, “President Trump is using his lawful and discretionary authority to ensure federal dollars are being spent in a way that aligns with the agenda endorsed by the American people when they resoundingly reelected the President,” the report said.
The lawsuit builds on an earlier challenge by Colorado focused on the Trump administration’s move of U.S. Space Command to Alabama. Weiser sued in October seeking to overturn that move, and the Thursday amendment broadened the challenge to include other federal actions that the report said negatively impacted Colorado “in recent months.” Those actions described in the AP account included dissolving a climate research lab, threatening to cut transportation money, withholding funds for needy families, and relocating U.S. Space Command.
Weiser’s suit asks U.S. District Judge R. Brooke Jackson in Denver to declare that Colorado was unjustly punished by the administration in violation of the Constitution’s guarantee of state sovereignty. During a news conference, Weiser said, “I recognize this is a novel request, and that’s because this is an unprecedented administration.” He also said, “We’ve never seen an administration act in a way that is so flatly violating the Constitution and disrespecting state sovereign authority.”
Trump continued to press for Peters’ release through public statements. The report said Trump posted on social media Thursday, “FREE TINA PETERS!” The AP account also said Trump, in a Dec. 31 post, referred to Colorado’s Democratic governor as a “scumbag.”
The report said Trump last month issued a symbolic pardon for Peters. It also said Trump’s pardon power does not extend to state crimes like those for which Peters was convicted last year and sentenced to nine years in prison. Peters, meanwhile, is asking a state appeals court to recognize Trump’s pardon as valid, and her attorneys are due in court next week as they seek to overturn her conviction.