Colorado governor fires two clemency board members who spoke out about Tina Peters' commutation [View all]

Source: CNN Politics

PUBLISHED Jul 2, 2026, 1:34 AM ET


Colorado Gov. Jared Polis on Wednesday fired two members of the state’s clemency board after they spoke out against his controversial decision to grant clemency to Tina Peters – an election denier whose sentence was cut in half by the outgoing Democratic governor in May. Azra Taslimi and Hannah Seigel Proff told CNN they were fired after speaking out publicly, including in a New York Times article in June, in which they revealed secret details about the clemency process and criticized the governor for overruling the board. They told the Times the clemency board twice voted unanimously behind closed doors to reject Peters’ application for an early release from prison.

Polis’ decision in May to release Peters came after President Donald Trump waged a long pressure campaign against Colorado to free her. Peters – who was released from prison in June – was the last Trump ally still in prison for 2020 election-related crimes. In letters to Taslimi and Proff obtained by CNN, Polis said the two members breached confidentiality by speaking out.

“Specifically, you breached the required duty of confidentiality by publicly divulging Board members’ votes pertaining to a clemency application which you obtained only through your official position on this Board,” Polis wrote in the letters. The two women told CNN they are disappointed they were fired — but not surprised.

“I’m not upset that he overrode our decision. I think what’s upsetting is that we understand why he did it, which is that you know Tina Peters had a powerful ally behind her,” Taslimi said. “She had political pressure applied in her name, and the governor capitulated to it, and that is what makes this unfair, and that is why I call it selective mercy, because you are giving her the benefit that you don’t give or apply to anyone else.”

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/02/politics/colorado-governor-fires-members-clemency-board-tina-peters