GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (CN) — Prosecutors on Wednesday told jurors the case against Tina Peters is one of “deceit and fraud,” opening the trial for the former Mesa County Clerk and Recorder who faces 10 charges related to leaking election machine data in 2021.
“What this case is not about is election computers or election records or a debate about beliefs or allegations that there was systematic election fraud throughout Mesa County or the state of Colorado or the United States of America,” explained special deputy district attorney Robert Shapiro in opening arguments. “This is a simple case of deceit and fraud.”
Peters faces three felony counts of attempting to influence a public servant, four felony counts related to impersonation and identity theft and a misdemeanor count each of official misconduct, violating her duties and failing to comply with the secretary of state’s requirements.
Prosecutors say that in May 2021, Peters instructed her deputy clerk to turn off security cameras and arranged for associate Conan Hayes to observe and photograph the voting machine trusted build, an update process conducted in person since the machines can’t connect to the Internet.
Peters then reportedly sent data and passwords to a Florida-based company for analysis and allowed them to be posted on the social media site Telegram by Ron Watkins, a key player in the QAnon conspiracy movement.
District Attorney Daniel Rubinstein investigated Peters’ claims of election fraud and discovered several instances of human error rather than an attempt to change the results of an election.
Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold decertified the county’s voting machines, prompting commissioners to shell out $96,153 on a contract extension to get new machines.
In August 2021 and January 2022, Griswold successfully sued to remove Peters from overseeing upcoming elections, fueling Peters’ narrative that she was unfairly punished for speaking out.
Defense attorneys for Peters asked the jury to keep an open mind, countering that she followed the law as written at the time, and believed she was required to retain records that were about to be deleted during the machine update.
In court and on social media, Peters has consistently claimed she is being persecuted for criticizing the government. A community of likeminded election deniers, including MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, have embraced Peters and helped pay her legal fees.
Peters’ defense team includes John Case, of Littleton, Colo., and Dan Hartman, who has represented the Michigan Republican Party in court.
21st judicial District Judge Matthew Barrett, appointed by Democratic Governor Jared Polis, is presiding over the case.
Following two days of juror questionaries, attorneys efficiently winnowed the courtroom packed with jurors down to a group of 12 with three alternates.
The jury pool includes two college students and a political junkie who listens to Ben Shapiro daily. Several jurors expressed distrust of the media, as defense attorneys railed against the Grand Junction Sentinel, a local newspaper which recently posted disclaimers over a trial preview to help prevent biasing the pool.
The trial is scheduled to run through Aug. 12.