“President Donald Trump said Thursday that he has pardoned Tina Peters, a former county clerk in Colorado who was convicted in state court on felony charges related to efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election,” the Washington Post reports.
“It was unclear whether Trump was asserting that he has the power to free Peters from state prison. She is serving a nine-year sentence. Presidents have the power to pardon defendants convicted in federal courts, but previous presidents have not claimed that authority in a state case.”
New York Times: “The president has no power to pardon state crimes. Mr. Trump could not, for example, pardon himself for the 34 felony convictions handed down in a New York trial last year. Because Ms. Peters is in prison for a state offense, Mr. Trump’s announcement on Thursday was primarily symbolic.”
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