The Trump White House coordinated millions in federal funding cuts against Colorado as punishment for the prosecution of election clerk Tina Peters, according to internal emails revealed in an ongoing lawsuit — and the paper trail shows the machinery of federal retaliation cranking into gear hours after a presidential pardon fell flat.
Why it matters: If a president can weaponize the treasury against a state over a single criminal case, federalism is finished. Every state becomes a vassal, and every official who crosses Washington learns that the money spigot gets shut off.
According to reporting by Westword, citing the Denver Post and New York Times, a deputy assistant to President Trump and senior policy strategist sent an email at 3 a.m. on December 15, 2025, titled "brainstorm call" to officials at the Departments of Energy, Transportation, Interior, and Agriculture, plus the Office of Management and Budget. The email asked for a joint call later that day to discuss "immediate actions that your department or agency can take with respect to Colorado" — specifically to "prioritize Colorado for the purposes of ensuring grants and federal support are in line with administration priorities."
Hours later, Trump called Colorado Governor Jared Polis "weak and pathetic" on live television over the imprisonment of Peters.
Then the hammer fell. Within days, OMB shuttered the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, the Department of Energy killed $615 million in Colorado funding, and federal emergency managers rejected wildfire disaster relief on the Western Slope.
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser called the email a "smoking gun" in an August 11 hearing on the state's retaliation lawsuit. "The shocking White House email discussed in court earlier this week proves what we have long suspected," Weiser said in a statement. "The White House orchestrated an unconstitutional scheme to weaponize the federal government to attack and punish Colorado for its lawful decisions over elections and our criminal justice system."
Peters was sentenced to nine years in October 2024 after a Mesa County jury convicted her on four felonies and three misdemeanors tied to a 2021 security breach in her own elections office. Peters maintained she was exposing vulnerabilities in the election system. Trump first asked that she be transferred to federal prison — Polis refused. Then he demanded a pardon — Polis refused again. Trump issued a presidential "full pardon," which meant nothing in a state case. Then came the "brainstorm call."
The late-night maneuver fits a documented pattern. Raw Story, citing the Daily Beast, reports that Trump insiders have repeatedly exploited after-hours access when senior staff are absent to push agendas past the president. Former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and adviser Corey Lewandowski snuck into the White House after the Minneapolis shootings; current DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin convinced Trump to nominate an ICE director while chief of staff Susie Wiles was at her daughter's wedding. "Certain people — bad actors — have found ways, like calling at night when his senior crew of advisers is not around, to push things through," a source close to Trump told the Daily Beast. The lesson Trumpworld officials drew: catch the president out of hours, and he gives you what you want.
Polis eventually buckled. In May, he granted clemency to Peters among 44 people — a reversal so abrupt that his own state Democratic Party censured him. "This power has the ability to change lives — help grant a second chance for someone who has made grave mistakes — and it comes with great consideration, and sometimes even controversy," Polis said.
Westword framed the story as retaliation confirmed; Raw Story buried the Colorado connection entirely, focusing instead on palace intrigue about who gets face time with the president after midnight. The difference matters. One outlet followed the money and the power; the other chased the soap opera.
The open question: if a state can be brought to heel through federal funding cuts over one criminal prosecution, what happens when the next state defies Washington on immigration, energy, or guns?
