Then-candidate Donald Trump did not try to hide it on the 2024 campaign trail. He promised retribution if returned to the presidency. New evidence in a federal court case shows exactly how his administration followed through in Colorado.
Colorado does not like Trump. The feeling is mutual.
Three times Colorado voters picked anyone but Trump. Hillary Clinton beat him by more than 5 points. He lost to Joe Biden by 13 and Kamala Harris by 11. Outside Tina Peters’ belfry, Trump does nothing but lose in Colorado.
But Peters gave him a venue for exacting his revenge. By holding the election denier accountable for tampering with election equipment, Colorado exposed the lies Trump told again and again when Biden beat him. That could not stand for Trump. Trump made Peters a cause celebre and martyr.
First, Trump demanded his Department of (In)Justice review Peters’ case. Fresh off pardoning her fellow election deniers and insurrectionists who stormed the U.S. Capitol at his behest, Trump thought the DO(I)J could bigfoot the legal system in our state. Never one to fully grasp the complexities of either the federalist system of government or the judicial branch, he grew impatient with their inability to deliver.
Six months later, Trump tried to have Peters transferred to federal custody. Presumably once in federal custody Trump would either order her release or send her to the same “Club Fed” where Ghislaine Maxwell — the convicted child sex trafficker and Jeffrey Epstein confidante — was sent after meeting with now Attorney General Todd Blanche.
Colorado refused to play their games.
In December, stymied and upset, Trump publicly announced that he had “pardoned” Peters. Despite no legal authority to do so, Trump appeared to be wishing it into existence. The truth is even more insidious. While Trump distracted everyone watching with his bellicose bravado, his team worked behind the scenes to use federal power to force the state’s hands.
Only days after his “pardon,” a White House deputy assistant to Trump convened a call with multiple federal agencies to discuss grants and support to Colorado. Specifically, officials from the departments of Energy, Transportation, Interior, Agriculture and the OMB (Office of Management and Budget) were put on notice to place the state in their crosshairs.
Hours later, Trump himself would castigate Gov. Jared Polis via Truth Social.
In the coming days and weeks, the administration yanked funds approaching a billion dollars from Colorado and tried to close critical infrastructure like the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder. Trump held up disaster relief funding from wildfire ravaged areas, vetoed clean water programs for rural communities and burdened Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program aid.
He hurt anyone and everyone, even communities that overwhelmingly supported him, to visit his wrath upon the state.
Eventually he got what he wanted. Polis commuted Peters’ sentence and she has since walked free, undeterred and unrepentant. Sadly, we may never know exactly what led to Polis’ decision. He ignored his own clemency board and dismissed members who publicly rebuked him. Effectively, Polis climbed out on a limb alone and sawed off the branch where he was perched.
At best, Polis folded like a cheap tent. At worst, he allowed himself to be swayed by the Trump playbook of public threats and personal flattery. Or maybe he finally let his inner tech bro libertarian freak flag fly. However it happened, Trump got his retribution.
It is not like Colorado is alone. Like any authoritarian, Trump has molded law enforcement to serve his needs rather than those of the people he represents. From drummed up charges against former FBI Director James Comey and New York AG Letitia James to investigating the daughter of the judge who oversaw the trial where Trump was convicted of 34 felonies, there is no line he will not cross.
But Colorado seems to be unique in the sheer damage he inflicted to impose his will. While he relishes in the legal fees and psychological harm he imposes on the individuals above, he did not think twice about hurting thousands of innocent Coloradans who had nothing to do with Peters’ incarceration. Collateral damage is of no consequence to him.
Thankfully, some Colorado public officials keep fighting. The lawsuit to prove retaliation led to disclosure of the email to organize federal agencies. It demonstrated the concentrated efforts of individuals willing to do Trump’s bidding, no matter the human cost. It documented the atrocity of his presidency and unrelenting pressure it puts on our democracy.
Such efforts must continue, even as the pressure and danger escalate. Over the next three months we will see the most aggressive attack on voting since Southern states barred Black Americans from casting ballots almost a century ago. Stamped with the alleged imprimatur of official agency action or at the end of a gun barrel, the November election is the next battleground.
Only due to the tireless efforts of people unwilling to let the country fall into authoritarian oblivion without a struggle, we still have a chance. Because if they stop fighting, his retribution will become our reality for the foreseeable future.
Mario Nicolais is an attorney and columnist who writes on law enforcement, the legal system, health care and public policy. Follow him on BlueSky: @MarioNicolais.bsky.social.
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