In 2024, Tina Peters, a former Colorado county clerk, was convicted of seven counts of election tampering at the state level following multiple breaches of ballot security in her county’s 2020 elections. Following President Donald Trump’s re-election, he has continually tried to pressure Colorado Governor Jared Polis into pardoning Peters by jeopardizing federal funding. The pressure campaign was recently accompanied by Trump’s proposal that the federal government should “get involved in” and “nationalize” elections.

In a new op-ed, Dan Greenberg, senior legal fellow with the Cato Institute, details the dangerous precedent President Trump’s pressure campaign sets for our nation:

“More is at stake here than a pipeline bill, or a research facility, or the freedom of an election-tampering county clerk. The bottom line is that the exercise of the pardon power must be governed by constitutional norms; it is supposed to be a gesture of mercy or grace, not a tool of governance. If the pardon power becomes the instrument of a racket, it can no longer be understood as a constitutional check: It functions more as a scepter of royal command. The 10th Amendment to the Constitution is supposed to prevent the transfer of Colorado’s sovereign powers to the Oval Office, because the president is not a king. Instead, he embodies a sub-unit of American government that, like every other government office, has limited powers. The protection-racket model that Trump has adopted here is an impermissible attempt at an end-run around constitutional norms. If successful, its consequences will be disastrous.”

To speak with Greenberg about President Trump’s pressure campaign, contact Christopher Tarvardian.