Federal officials to review Tina Peters’ election conspiracy case for “abuses of the criminal justice process”

The U.S. Department of Justice will review Colorado’s prosecution of former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters in a search for “abuses of the criminal justice process,” according to court documents.

Peters was sentenced in October to eight and a half years in prison and six months in jail after she used someone else’s security badge to give a man affiliated with My Pillow chief executive Mike Lindell, a prominent election denier, access to the Mesa County election system in an unsuccessful search for voter fraud.

Department of Justice officials said “reasonable concerns” were raised about Peters’ case, including the length of her sentence, alleged First Amendment violations and being denied bail pending appeal, according to a statement of interest filed Monday in federal court.

The former clerk also told federal officials she suffers from health issues and both her physical and mental health have deteriorated while incarcerated, according to the document.

The review, which federal officials said will evaluate whether Peters’ prosecution was “oriented more toward inflicting political pain than toward pursuing actual justice or legitimate government objectives,” cites President Donald Trump’s executive order for “Ending the Weaponization of the Federal Government.”

Trump can’t pardon Peters because she was convicted on state charges.