Colorado Governor Dismisses Two Clemency Board Members Over Leak

On Wednesday, Colorado Governor Jared Polis dismissed two members of the state's clemency board after they publicly criticized his contentious choice to grant clemency to Tina Peters. Peters, a prominent election denier, had her prison sentence halved by the departing Democratic governor earlier in May.

Azra Taslimi and Hannah Seigel Proff disclosed to CNN that their termination followed their public statements, notably in a June New York Times article. In the piece, they exposed confidential details regarding the clemency proceedings and admonished the governor for bypassing the board's recommendation. They informed the Times that the board had twice voted unanimously in private to deny Peters’ request for early release.

Peters, the Republican former clerk of Mesa County, received a conviction in 2024 on state felony charges for conspiring with other election deniers. Their goal was to compromise the county's voting infrastructure to substantiate former President Donald Trump’s unfounded claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election.

The decision by Polis in May to shorten Peters' sentence—a move that saw him rebuked by his own party—occurred after Trump executed a long pressure campaign demanding her release from Colorado authorities. Peters, who walked free in June, was the final Trump associate incarcerated for offenses linked to the 2020 election.

CNN obtained letters sent by Polis to Taslimi and Proff, wherein the governor accused the pair of violating confidentiality agreements through their public disclosures.

“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 articulated in the termination notices.

Both women conveyed to CNN that while they were disappointed by the dismissal, it did not come as a surprise.

“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 remarked. “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.”

Eric Maruyama, a representative for the governor, provided a statement to CNN on Wednesday asserting, “Publicly disclosing board recommendations and how members vote on any case threatens the credibility of the board, colors future deliberations by the board and breaks clearly stated confidentiality policy articulated in the Executive Order which establishes this board.”

Following the publication of this report, Maruyama issued a subsequent statement to CNN clarifying, “This decision was not made because these individuals publicly said they disagree with the Governor on a specific case, but because they publicly disclosed how they and other members of the board voted, breaking the confidentiality this process requires.”

Proff, a board member for nearly eight years, explained her interpretation of the confidentiality rules surrounding the private recommendation process. She viewed it “more as the confidentiality to protect the people who apply for clemency, not to protect the governor.”

Governor Polis primarily justified his decision to free Peters by referencing a recent ruling from a Colorado appeals court. The court determined that the trial judge had infringed upon Peters’ First Amendment rights by penalizing her inappropriately for protected speech concerning the 2020 election.

“It was a straightforward decision because, after reviewing the facts, and reading the Appeals Court decision, I concluded that her sentence was simply too long,” Polis explained in a Substack post, despite also condemning the crimes committed by Peters.

Following their removal, Proff expressed concern regarding the future transparency of the board's operations.

“I worry now that we’ve been terminated from the board what comes of this is that people are less likely to speak out … that politicians will go unchecked on these sort of decisions,” Proff concluded.

This story as been updated with additional details.