NPR Removes Claim About Trump Pressuring Governor to Release Clerk

+ Accessibility links Skip to main content Keyboard shortcuts for audio player Open Navigation Menu --> Newsletters NPR Shop Close Navigation Menu Home News Expand/collapse submenu for News National World Politics Business Health Science Climate Race Culture Expand/collapse submenu for Culture Books Movies Television Pop Culture Food Art & Design Performing Arts Life Kit Gaming Music Expand/collapse submenu for Music Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions Podcasts & Shows Expand/collapse submenu for Podcasts & Shows Daily Morning Edition Weekend Edition Saturday Weekend Edition Sunday All Things Considered Up First Here & Now NPR Politics Podcast Featured Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! Fresh Air Wild Card with Rachel Martin It's Been a Minute Planet Money Get NPR+ More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics Former Colorado clerk convicted of tampering with voting machines released early Tina Peters, a county clerk in Colorado convicted of interfering in the 2020 elections, was released from jail early after President Trump pressured the state's Democratic governor. National Former Colorado clerk convicted of tampering with voting machines released early June 2, 20264:41 AM ET Heard on Morning Edition From By Bente Birkeland Former Colorado clerk convicted of tampering with voting machines released early Listen &middot; 2:09 2:09 Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed "> <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5843081/nx-s1-9793737" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript Tina Peters, a county clerk in Colorado convicted of interfering in the 2020 elections, was released from jail early after President Trump pressured the state's Democratic governor. Sponsor Message A MARTÍNEZ, HOST: A former Colorado election clerk and ally of President Trump is out of prison. The state's Democratic governor commuted her sentence. Colorado Public Radio's Bente Birkeland has more.

+ BENTE BIRKELAND, BYLINE: Former Mesa County clerk Tina Peters was serving a nearly nine-year sentence after being convicted in 2024 for her actions related to tampering with voting machines. Peters allowed an unauthorized person to gain access to the machines about six months after the 2020 presidential election to search for vote rigging. Hours after her release from prison, after serving just shy of two years, she appeared on the Steve Bannon podcast "War Room." (SOUNDBITE OF PODCAST, "WAR ROOM") TINA PETERS: I know that the Democrats are going to cheat, and no one's really addressing the problem that the Mesa - that I spent my time in prison as retribution for. And that was exposing the election machines that allow the votes to be flipped. BIRKELAND: That was not true. State audits and hand counts showed the machines were secure and accurately counted the paper ballots. So far, the courts have upheld her guilty verdict. The issue is the sentence. The Colorado Court of Appeals said her election-denying beliefs may have led the trial judge to give her a longer sentence. The state's Democratic governor, Jared Polis, agreed. He said her harsh sentence was influenced by her, quote, "nutty beliefs." JARED POLIS: It's outrageous that anybody, you know, spreads lies about elections, but free speech is a cornerstone of our constitutional rights and our democracy, and that should not have been a factor in sentencing. BIRKELAND: The governor faced immediate blowback. The state Democratic Party censured Polis and barred him from speaking at party functions. Polis is term-limited this year. Democrats say commuting Peters' sentence emboldens Trump and makes the job even more difficult for county clerks. For NPR News, I'm Bente Birkeland in Colorado. (SOUNDBITE OF BLACK HILL & SILENT ISLAND'S "NIGHT IN A MOSSY HUT") Copyright &copy; 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record. Facebook Flipboard Email Read & Listen Home News Culture Music Podcasts & Shows Connect Newsletters Facebook Instagram Press Public Editor Corrections Transcripts Contact & Help About NPR Overview Diversity NPR Network Accessibility Ethics Finances Get Involved Support Public Radio Sponsor NPR NPR Careers NPR Shop NPR Extra Terms of Use Privacy Your Privacy Choices Text Only Sponsor Message Sponsor Message Become an NPR sponsor (function () { var loadPageJs = function () { (window.webpackJsonp=window.webpackJsonp||[]).push([[22],{1169:function(e,n,c){e.exports=c(321)},321:function(e,n,c){"use strict";c.p=NPR.serverVars.webpackPublicPath,Promise.all([c.e(1),c.e(2),c.e(3),c.e(4),c.e(82)]).then(function(e){c(3),c(1141),c(116),c(95),c(52),c(491),c(240),c(102),c(104),c(1142),c(144),c(1143),c(239),c(48),c(1144)}.bind(null,c)).catch(c.oe)}},[[1169,0]]]); }; if (document.readyState === 'complete') { loadPageJs(); } else { window.addEventListener('load', function load() { window.removeEventListener('load', load, false); loadPageJs(); }); } })();