JUST IN: Colorado files fiery response to unusual USDOJ entry in former county clerk Tina Peters' challenge to her conviction & 9-year sentence in election data fraud scheme: "A grotesque attempt to weaponize the rule of law," SG Shannon Stevenson says

In what appears to be a naked, political attempt to threaten or intimidate either this Court
or the attorneys that prosecuted this matter, the United States has taken the unprecedented and
extraordinary step of filing a “statement of interest” in this habeas proceeding concerning a state
criminal conviction. This statement purports to request “prompt and careful consideration” of
“reasonable concerns [that] have been raised” about the conviction and sentence of Tina Peters,
followed by an announcement that the Department of Justice is evaluating whether the State of
Colorado’s prosecution of Ms. Peters was politically motivated. ECF No. 16. The United States
cites not a single fact to support its baseless allegations that there are any reasonable concerns
about Ms. Peters’ prosecution or sentence, or that the prosecution was politically motivated in
any way. Rather, what appears “politically motivated”—and a grotesque attempt to weaponize
the rule of law—is the very statement the United States has filed. .....

There is no legitimate basis for the United States’ “Statement of Interest,” and the Court
should reject it. Respondent Attorney General is unaware of the United States ever filing a
statement in a habeas application challenging the State of Colorado’s criminal proceedings, and
the only interest it has articulated is a political concern wholly inappropriate in this judicial
proceeding.

Our nation’s commitment to the principle of the “rule of law” requires the equal and fair
administration of the law regardless of the defendant in any particular case. The United States’
suggestion that there is a uniquely important interest in advocating for this individual— because
of her political views—is unprecedented, highly problematic, and a threat to the rule of law.
Like other challenges to this fundamental principle, this effort must be rejected outright, and our
nation must hold firm to this core commitment of our justice system.