Tag: Tina Peters

The Mesa County GOP needs to apologize for creating, aiding and abetting the Tina Peters debacle

Mesa County GOP Chair Kevin McCarney defends Tina Peters at a “Stand for the Constitution” meeting at Appleton Christian Church in Grand Junction in September, 2021. Tina Peters’ wild, egregious election-lie fiasco has embarrassed Mesa County on a national scale. 

It was clear back in 2018 when she was elected that Tina Peters was unqualified to be Mesa County Clerk and Recorder. She had had zero experience in government or in the Clerk’s office, had never worked in public administration or worked on an election in any capacity.

At the time, the qualifications between the two candidates for County Clerk couldn’t have been more stark:

Wendi and Gerald Wood: “Tina Peters and Sherronna Bishop have sullied election integrity efforts in Mesa County,” and Tina’s “Gerald Wood” impersonator was election denier Conan Hayes


Gerald and Wendi Wood are speaking out after Tina Peters slandered Gerald Wood on a Denver radio talk show on June 18. Tina told Jimmy Sengenberger of KNUS in Denver that Gerald Wood, whose identity Tina is accused of stealing, “perjured himself” before a Mesa County grand jury. Tina called Wood’s grand jury testimony “political theater.”

Woods called Tina’s statement that he perjured himself “a blatant lie.”

On June 28, the Woods gave an interview to KREX TV in which they break their silence on the matter. The full, edited interview is about 20 minutes long.

Among other things, the Woods say Tina used them, that her lack of integrity should disqualify her from office, that Tina “seems like she’s being pushed over the edge,” and that the way Tina used Gerald Wood “could happen to anybody if you elect a disreputable business person” to office.

Trump & his associates have repeatedly fleeced those who trusted him most. Tina Peters is following his lead.

Tina Peters appears on Steve Bannon’s Internet TV show, “War Room,” Dec. 31, 2021

First, former Trump advisor Steve Bannon raised hundreds of millions of dollars from Trump supporters using his private fundraising campaign, “We Build the Wall,” that promised to build a wall between the U.S. and Mexico. Bannon promised gullible MAGA-heads that “100% of the funds raised …[would] be used in the execution of our mission and purpose.” But Bannon and his associates diverted hundreds of thousands of dollars from the campaign to pay their own personal expenses and credit card debt, buy expensive luxury items like jewelry, home renovations, high-end SUVs, plastic surgery and golf carts. Law enforcement agents arrested Bannon in August of 2020 on charges of money laundering and conspiracy to commit wire fraud while he was off the coast of Connecticut, lounging on a 150-foot long super-yacht owned by a Chinese billionaire.

Trump pardoned Bannon of these crimes before leaving office in 2021, which is why Bannon was never prosecuted for them.

Tina Peters losing support locally


Support for Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters appears to be waning among her “base” in Mesa County as people discover Peters is willing to lie and sacrifice other people to further her own ends.

The Daily Sentinel reported today that enthusiasm for Peters among members of the far-right group Stand for the Constitution (SFTC) appears to be waning. The group, previously a strong supporter of Peters, invited Peters’ opponent for Secretary of State, Mike O’Donnell, to speak at their most recent meeting. The meeting was sponsored in part by Andrea Barber, the sister-in-law of Gerald Wood, whose identity Tina Peters stole in order to smuggle a third person into the Elections Department to copy voting machine hard drives.

Former G.J. City Council candidate Mark McAllister speaks in support of Tina Peters at an August, 2021 rally organized by Stand for the Constitution in support of Tina Peters, while a supporter holds a sign that says “I Trust Tina Peters.” (Photo: YouTube)

Peters’ actions swept up Fruita resident Gerald Wood into the criminal investigation of Peters’ election tampering, forcing Wood to have to prove to authorities he was not present at the time Peters had the hard drives copied.

Like Tina, Mesa County Sheriff Candidate Bob Dalley believes The Big Lie

Dalley is overtly politically partisan, and promotes himself repeatedly as a Christian who loves guns. But more than this, he believes in Trump’s Big Lie, just like Tina Peters does.

The front page of this Saturday’s Daily Sentinel featured an article about the debate held recently between the two candidates running for Mesa County Sheriff in the Republican primary election coming up June 28: Bob Dalley and incumbent Sheriff Todd Rowell.

At the debate, Dalley cited statistics about alarming increases in crime within the county, without giving any sources for his statistics, while Sheriff Rowell cited Colorado Bureau of Investigations data that show Mesa County actually has lower crime rates than the rest of the state as a whole.

That Dalley would quote statistics, as he does on his campaign website as well, without citing even a single source for any of the information, is always a red flag, since he could be making up this information, but the biggest bombshell in the Sentinel article was really near the end, and was presented with little fanfare or attention:

It was this:

“Dalley said he doesn’t believe Joe Biden fairly won his election to president of the United States in 2020.”

It’s happening! Tina Peters: The Movie

Screen shot of the 2 minute, 15 second movie trailer for “Selection Code,” made by Lara Logan and financed by My Pillow Guy Mike Lindell

Get out the popcorn, Mesa County.

A new “documentary” movie is coming out July 16 that tells the story of embattled Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters’ efforts to convince people that massive election fraud occurred in Mesa County’s voting machines.

In reality, a recent months-long, thorough investigation into allegations of voting machine problems by Mesa County District Attorney Dan Rubinstein and his team, the results of which were presented to the Mesa County Commissioners and the public last week, reveal that was not the case. The evidence revealed beyond a doubt that human action by a member of Peters’ own Elections Department staff, who was trying to remedy a frozen computer screen, was at the heart of Peters’ accusations, and the investigation found the County’s vote tabulating machines worked appropriately and counted ballots accurately.

Detailed investigation finds no election fraud occurred in Mesa County — Clerk not exonerated of crimes

D.A. Dan Rubinstein and Investigator Michael Struwe tell the Mesa County Commissioners on May 19, 2022 how they arrived at their findings that there was no prosecutable election tampering in the local 2020 and 2021 elections

It came to attention while talking with a friend this morning that some people have misconstrued news reports about Mesa County District Attorney Dan Rubinstein’s recent investigation into election tampering (video, 1 hr, 12 min) and his subsequent statement that he will not be taking any legal action on Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters’ claim that criminal election fraud occurred in Mesa County.

Some people believe this statement, that no criminal activity was found, meant that Tina Peters has been exonerated of any wrongdoing.

That’s totally incorrect.

Ethics Commission rules third complaint against Tina Peters is valid

Tina Peters’ mugshot for her arrest on 3/9/2022, charged with 8 felonies and 3 misdemeanors related to election tampering

At their meeting today, May 17, the Colorado Independent Ethics Commission (IEC) unanimously ruled the third ethics complaint they received about Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters is non-frivolous. The vote means they will proceed to act on it.

The third complaint, assigned Complaint #22-22, is about Peters’ acceptance of a purported $800,000 donation from fellow election denier Mike Lindell, CEO of the My Pillow Company, in violation of Article 29 of Colorado’s Constitution, which limits the value of any gifts an elected official can accept to $65.

New ethics complaint against Tina Peters will be heard by CO Independent Ethics Commission tomorrow

A third ethics complaint (pdf) was filed against Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters on May 9, 2022.

This one is about her failure to report contributions to her legal defense fund, in particular the $800,000 donation that My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell said he made to Peters’ fund. Lindell disclosed the donation at an election denier event at the state Capitol April 5.  9News in Denver described it as the single biggest contribution ever made to any elected official in Colorado history. The Colorado Independent Ethics Commission (IEC) designated the latest complaint as Complaint No. 22-22. It is the third ethics complaint filed against Peters since she became a high-profile election denier.

Court rules Republican County Clerk candidate Julie Fisher is not competent to run elections, either, and was complicit in Peters debacle

Julie Fisher, who is a candidate for Mesa County Clerk and Recorder in the Republican primary June 28th. The judge found she has insufficient experience to run elections and was complicit in the Tina Peters/Belinda Knisley capers.

On Tuesday, May 10, 2022, District Court Judge Valerie Robison granted an injunction that prohibits Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters and Deputy Clerk Belinda Knisley from running  elections through 2022, making it the second year that the two top officials in the Mesa County Clerk’s Office have been barred from having anything to do with elections.

No less important, though, were Judge Robison’s findings about current employee in the Clerk’s office and Republican candidate for County Clerk Julie Fisher, whom Tina Peters had dubbed her “Second Chief Deputy Clerk.”

Robison found Fisher did not have adequate experience in handling elections, hadn’t taken the election training provided by the Secretary of State and that the position Tina had appointed Fisher to, “Second Chief Deputy Clerk,” was a fake position.

The Court ruled “there is no statutory provision for the position of “Second Chief Deputy Clerk” in the Clerk and Recorder’s Office.

Essentially, Tina invented the “Second Chief Deputy Clerk” position to do an end run around the County Commissioners and the Court, and appoint her own hand-picked person to perform her job in her and Knisley’s absence.

But Judge Robison wasn’t having any of that.

Indicted Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters attends event in Mar A Lago May 5

Tweet Tina Peters posted on May 5, 2022, about her trip to Mar a Lago, Florida

Indicted Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, who is out of jail on $25,000 bond, went to an event at Donald Trump’s estate in Florida on May 5.

As a term of her bond, she was ordered not to leave the state, and would have to have obtained approval from the court before making this trip. The only exception the Court granted to this requirement, made at the time Judge Matthew Barrett lowered her bond from $500,000 to $25,000, was for Peters to attend the funeral of her father, who died in North Carolina during the night she spent in the Mesa County Jail, according to Peters’ attorney. It is unclear whether Peters sought or received approval from the Court for this trip. UPDATE: Peters has now been granted permission by the Court to leave the state.

Convicted felon Rod Blagojevich to headline campaign fundraiser for indicted Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters

Kyle Clark of 9News in Denver reported yesterday (video) that convicted felon Rod Blagojevich will headline a Saturday, May 14, 2022 fundraiser for indicted Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters‘ campaign for secretary of state. The fundraiser will be held at Dunafon Castle, a wedding venue in Lakewood, Colorado owned by Debbie and Mike Dunafon, who also own Shotgun Willie’s strip club in Glendale, Colorado. The Dunafons are hosting the fundraiser. The cost to rent the venue on a Saturday for a group of up to 150 people is $9,400.00.

Tina Peters hires attorney who defended Bannon’s co-conspirator in “We Build the Wall” fraud

Harvey Steinberg (Photo: BestLawyers.com)

Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters has hired big-gun Colorado criminal defense attorney Harvey Steinberg of Denver to defend her in her criminal case(s).

Steinberg is the lawyer the Denver Broncos and other high-profile sports figures keep on speed dial for whenever they get busted for rape, road rage, domestic violence, DUIs, driving with a suspended license and such.

Steinberg is also the guy who defended Steve Bannon’s accomplice Brian Kolfage in the “We Build the Wall” fundraising scam.

“We Build The Wall” was a private fundraising campaign in which Bannon and accomplices, including Kolfage, defrauded hundreds of thousands of MAGA-heads out of over $25 million through an online crowdfunding campaign. Bannon and Kolfage pitched the campaign to unsuspecting Trump supporters as a private effort to build a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico. Bannon and Kolfage promised Trumpers they would “not take a penny in salary or compensation” for their efforts, and that “100% of the funds raised …[would] be used in the execution of our mission and purpose.”

What happens if Tina Peters gets elected, convicted and sentenced to prison?

Kyle Clark of 9News in Denver answers the question of what happens if Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, who is currently under indictment for ten felonies related to election tampering, gets elected as Secretary of State AND gets convicted of the crimes she’s been charged with?

State law says a person can run for office while under indictment and can even serve in office after being convicted, but state law also says a person cannot serve from prison.

If Peters is elected Secretary of State in November and is convicted of her alleged crimes and sentenced to prison, the the governor can appoint someone to fill her vacancy.

Governor Polis is up for re-election in November.

Accused felon & election denier Tina Peters leads Republican primary for Secretary of State


In an event that shows just how far out of touch with reality Colorado’s Republic Party has become, election denier Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, who was indicted a month ago on multiple felony charges related to tampering with election equipment, was the runaway winner for the Secretary of State nomination at the Colorado Republican Party state assembly April 9, 2022 in Colorado Springs. Peters won a whopping 62% of the vote, making her the Republicans’ front runner for Secretary of State in the primary election on June 28. Peters will oppose former two-term Jefferson County Clerk and Recorder and former president of the Colorado County Clerks Association Pam Anderson, on the primary ballot. Anderson petitioned her way onto the ballot. (Anderson’s mother-in-law is former longtime Colorado Senate Majority Leader Norma Anderson.) While Pam Anderson is a Republican, she not an election denier. Peters also faces Mike O’Donnell, a candidate from Yuma County.

Tina Peters shifts legal defense fundraising out of state, continues to accept largesse from Pillow Guy Mike Lindell

See video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksNf_iQcjTQ

A report yesterday evening from Kyle Clark of 9News in Denver confirmed that indicted Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters has closed down her legal defense fund website, StandWithTina.org, and shifted her legal fundraising out of state to a Wisconsin fund operated by My Pillow CEO and fellow election conspiracist Mike Lindell. Lindell told Clark he is now funding Peters’ legal defense through the site, and is using some of his own funds to help her as well.

New info in 18-page indictment against Peters and Knisely

Mug shots of Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters (L) and Chief Deputy Clerk Belinda Knisely (R): Partners in crime. (Photo: YouTube)

If you haven’t had time yet to read the entire 18-page indictment of Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters (pdf) filed March 8 that led to her arrest on seven felonies and three misdemeanors, probably the newest and most interesting additional information in it is about the infamous “Gerald Wood,” who we all thought was the unauthorized person Peters smuggled into the secure room where the election equipment is kept.

Turns out he wasn’t.

Colorado introduces New “Tina Peters Bill” to stop insider threats to election security

Sen. Stephen Fenberg, President of the Colorado Senate, introduced the bill

A new bill introduced in the Colorado Senate March 11 appears to be tailor-made to address the behaviors exhibited by Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters that led to her 10 criminal indictments last week over election tampering, including seven felonies. If she’s convicted, she could go to prison.

House Bill 22-153 (pdf), titled “Internal Election Security Measures,” would shorten the amount of time newly-elected clerks have to get certified to run elections from two years to six months. The required courses include information in voter registration and list maintenance, accessibility, coordinated elections, mail-in ballot and in-person voting processes, voting systems testing, risk-limiting audits, canvassing, and election security.

Peters never got the state-required certification to run elections