Weiser wants judge to block DOJ's involvement in Tina Peters' incarceration
MESA COUNTY, Colo. (KREX) – Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said President Donald Trump's administration is wielding 'political power' by giving unprecedented help to the ex-Mesa County Clerk and Recorder.
Now, Weiser wants a magistrate judge to block the Justice Department's involvement in Tina Peters's incarceration. Peters was convicted last year of unauthorized access to election machines in 2021.
The U.S. Justice Department submitted in March a federal court filing in support of Peters' fight to be freed from prison. She's currently appealing a state court conviction for allowing Trump supporters to access election equipment.
In a statement of interest, the DOJ said its concerns relate to Peters' 'exceptionally lengthy sentence,' First Amendment rights violations and the state's denial of bail pending appeal, which is 'arbitrary or unreasonable under the Eighth and 14th Amendments.'
Peters was sentenced to nine years of incarceration in October.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
'Elon is going to get decimated:' How Trump's feud with the world's richest man might end
'Elon is going to get decimated:' How Trump's feud with the world's richest man might end Show Caption Hide Caption President Trump gives his thoughts on Elon Musk amid clash on bill President Donald Trump responded to Elon Musk's criticism of his "big, beautiful bill" with disappointment as Musk responded on X. WASHINGTON — If history is any guide, and there is a lot of history, the explosive new falling out between President Donald Trump and Elon Musk is not going to end well for the former White House advisor and world's richest man. The political battlefield is littered with the scorched remains of some of Trump's previous allies who picked a fight with him or were on the receiving end of one. Lawyer Michael Cohen. Political advisor Steve Bannon. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Defense Secretary James Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. John Bolton, John Kelly and Chris Christie, to name just a few. 'If what happened to me is any indication of how they handle these matters, then Elon is going to get decimated,' said Cohen, the former long-term Trump lawyer and fixer who once said he'd 'take a bullet' for his boss. Musk, he said, "just doesn't understand how to fight this type of political guerilla warfare." 'They're going to take his money, they're going to shutter his businesses and they're going to either incarcerate or deport him,' Cohen said of what he thinks Musk will suffer at the hands of Trump and his administration. 'He's probably got the White House working overtime already, as we speak, figuring out how to close his whole damn thing down.' Cohen had perhaps the most spectacular blow up, until now, with Trump. He served time in prison after Trump threw him under the bus by denying any knowledge of pre-election payments Cohen made to a porn actress to keep her alleged tryst with Trump quiet before the 2016 election. More: President Trump threatens Elon Musk's billions in government contracts as alliance craters Cohen felt so betrayed by Trump that he titled his memoir 'Disloyal,' but the Trump administration tried to block its publication. Cohen ultimately fought back, becoming a star witness for the government in the state 'hush money' case and helped get Trump convicted by a Manhattan jury. Some suffered similar legal attacks and other slings and arrows, including Trump taunts and his trademark nasty nicknames. Trump vilified others, casting them into the political wilderness with his MAGA base. When Sessions recused himself from the Justice Department's investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 election, Trump savaged him, calling his appointment a 'mistake' and lobbing other epithets. Sessions resigned under pressure in 2018. When he tried to resurrect his political career by running for his old Senate seat in Alabama, Trump endorsed his opponent, who won the GOP primary. After firing Tillerson, Trump called the former ExxonMobil chief lazy and 'dumb as a rock.' Trump still taunts Christie, an early supporter and 2016 transition chief, especially about his weight. Trump also had a falling out with Bannon, who was instrumental in delivering his presidential victory in 2016 and then joined the White House as special advisor. 'Steve Bannon has nothing to do with me or my Presidency,' Trump said in 2018, a year after Bannon's ouster from the White House. 'When he was fired, he not only lost his job, he lost his mind.' Trump's Justice Department even indicted Bannon in 2020 for fraud, though the President pardoned him before leaving office. One of Trump's biggest feuds was with Bolton, whom he fired as his national security advisor in 2019. Trump used every means possible to prevent his book, 'The Room Where it Happened,' from being published, Bolton told USA TODAY on Thursday. That included having the U.S. government sue his publisher on the false premise that Bolton violated a nondisclosure agreement and was leaking classified information, Bolton said. Bolton said Musk is unlike most others who have crossed swords with Trump in that he has unlimited amounts of money and control of a powerful social media platform in X to help shape the narrative. Musk also has billions in government contracts that even a vindictive Trump will have a hard time killing, as he threatened to do on Thursday, without significant legal challenges. Even so, Bolton said, "It's going to end up like most mud fights do, with both of them worse off. The question is how much worse the country is going to be off."
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Florida education officials grill Hillsborough superintendent over LGBTQ+ books in schools
State Board of Education members recently grilled Hillsborough County's public schools superintendent after state officials condemned books in his district's schools that they called "pornographic." Superintendent Van Ayres was called to the June 4 board meeting after receiving a letter from Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. At issue: The books "Call Me By Your Name" and "Jack of Hearts (And Other Parts)," which both involve LGBTQ+ themes. Diaz, who is in line to become the next president of the University of West Florida, said they were "pornographic and inappropriate books." According to the book's publishers, "Call Me by Your Name" is the "story of a sudden and powerful romance that blossoms between an adolescent boy and a summer guest at his parents' cliffside mansion on the Italian Riviera," and "Jack of Hearts (And Other Parts)" is "about an unapologetically queer teen working to uncover a blackmailer threatening him back into the closet." "Unfortunately, your lack of leadership regarding the selection, approval and maintenance of library media materials continues to put children at risk and undermines parental rights," Diaz wrote in his May 9 letter to Ayres, who has led the district – the seventh largest in the U.S. – since November 2023. Florida's public schools have seen a significant increase in book removals, driven by legislation that empowers parents to challenge materials they consider inappropriate, leading to the removal of thousands of books that address LGBTQ+ themes, race, or even classic literature. It's sparked a national controversy, with critics arguing that such moves constitute censorship and violate First Amendment rights, prompting lawsuits from authors, publishers, and advocacy groups. In Hillsborough County, more than 600 books were removed from circulation in mid-May, after state officials – including Diaz and Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier – pressured school districts. Those books included the two mentioned by Diaz. In heated questioning, board members asked Ayres why these books were not flagged sooner. But Ayres said "inappropriate materials will absolutely not be in our libraries, and it does not take a process for us to do that." Banned book list: Hundreds of books pulled from Florida schools listed in new DOE release. Here are the titles Board member Ryan Petty countered: "These are nasty, disgusting books that have no place in a school in Florida. Please help me understand what your review process is, because it took me less than five minutes to realize these books violate the statute and they should not be in our schools." Ayres said he removed the books specifically named by Uthmeier and Diaz in their letters in "an abundance of caution." Stephana Ferrell with Florida Freedom to Read, a group that advocates for book access, told board members she was troubled with them only reading one-page excerpts about the books instead of trusting media specialists who read and analyze them in their entirety. Ferrell added that her group is OK with a book going through the objection process "so long that it is considered in its entirety for literary, artistic, scientific and political value." She said the problem is when it's considered only by "standards set by the state." From the archives: Which books are allowed? Varied interpretations of Florida law lead to confusion at schools "This is not about parental rights," Ferrell said. "This is about state control and this idea that our libraries are government speech, that they can regulate and decide what's available based on their own viewpoints." In November, the Florida Department of Education released a list of about 700 books that were "removed or discontinued" from public schools in the 2023-2024 school year. The list is in accordance with state law from 2022, which increased regulation of school library books. The state education board approved a rule to publish an annual list in 2023 to provide "transparency" to families. Both "Call Me By Your Name" and "Jack of Hearts (And Other Parts)" are on the list. These actions also follow Florida's record of having the most book bans in the nation, according to PEN America in November. The free speech group's report at that time had more than 4,500 instances of books being removed from classroom libraries, removed pending a review or restricted based on grade or parental permission. This reporting content is supported by a partnership with Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners. USA Today Network-Florida First Amendment reporter Stephany Matat is based in Tallahassee, Fla. She can be reached at SMatat@ On X: @stephanymatat. This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Hillsborough superintendent in hot water over LGBTQ+ titles in schools
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
6 Wildly Different Ways Fox News Hosts Struggled To Process Trump-Musk Blow-Up
Donald Trump and Elon Musk appear to be done. And on Thursday, personalities on conservative Fox News processed the online blow-up between the president and his former so-called 'First Buddy' in various different ways. Will Cain appeared somber as he suggested it is 'hard to see a path forward for these two to repair their relationship' after Musk last week left his role leading Trump's unofficial Department of Government Efficiency and then almost immediately slammed the president's proposed spending bill. 'This is not a story that anyone was looking for,' Cain added. 'Perhaps somewhat predictable with two big personalities but not a story that we wanted today for America.' Sean Hannity, a vocal supporter of Trump who has campaigned on stage with the president, suggested the only real difference the duo had was over the bill. Hannity predicted they'd become friends again and expressed his hope that 'they work it out and set an example for the rest of the country.' Jesse Watters also downplayed the feud, saying: 'Sometimes guys fight. Guys sometimes will punch you in the face and the next night you're having a beer. Sleep with your girlfriend and you patch things up.' Trump and Musk 'are like roommates, they were living in close quarters for like the first six months of the year, they're just blowing off steam,' he added. Laura Ingraham suggested Trump should 'simply disengage' from the feud. Musk 'is his own person' and his companies' government contracts 'shouldn't be called into question' as Trump has now done, she added. Greg Gutfeld said: 'I don't like it. I want it to stop. I want to tell them, if they are both watching: 'Knock it off. We're done with this.'' And Trump first-term White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany described it as 'a sad thing to see.' 'I don't want to see the adults fighting,' she said. 'But I do think this was predictable.' 1 Subtle Barb In Trump-Musk Blow-Out Has Dana Bash Saying 'Wow, Wow, Wow' German Leader Politely Shuts Down Trump's Hot Take On D-Day Ex-Trump Aide Spells Out How Elon Musk Could Gain Ultimate Revenge On The President
