Embattled Mesa County Clerk and Recorder Tina Peters will face a third ethics complaint review from Colorado’s Independent Ethics Commission.
The IEC approved the complaint against Peters over alleged gifts she received from MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell and authorized subpoena power for a hearing officer overseeing one of the three complaints against her.
INDICTED COLORADO OFFICIAL BARRED FROM ADMINISTERING 2022 ELECTIONS
"I allege that Mesa County Clerk & Recorder Tina Peters is violating Article XXX of the Colorado Constitution by utilizing an out-of-state legal defense fund that by all appearances accepted as much as $800,000 from a single donor, My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell," the complaint from Anne Landman, a Grand Junction, Colorado, resident, read.
During a so-called "Election Truth Rally” at the Colorado State Capitol last month, Lindell told reporters that he "probably put in three, four, or five, maybe $800,000, of my own money" to the legal defense of Peters. But Colorado law limits gifts to elected officials to $65 and under, with exceptions for relatives and close friends.
Peters is facing a bevy of legal woes. She was indicted in March over alleged election equipment tampering and misconduct in Colorado. She is also facing several lawsuits over her behavior as an election administrator.
The IEC approved the third ethics complaint during its Tuesday meeting after deeming it nonfrivolous, per Colorado Politics. Peters has about 30 days to respond to the complaint. Landman, who maintains a blog on Colorado politics, also filed the other two complaints against Peters.
The first complaint levies allegations that Peters improperly accepted flights and hotel stays from Lindell when she traveled to his election cyber symposium in South Dakota last August. Peters pursued a stay on that complaint because the issue in the complaint was subject to a Mesa County grand jury investigation. The IEC extended the stay on that complaint, according to Colorado Politics.
Landman's second complaint alleges Peters did not comply with disclosure requirements on her legal fund. The IEC granted Commissioner Sarah Mercer subpoena power to review the second complaint during its Tuesday meeting after concluding it was having "trouble with responsiveness" from Peters in its review, per Colorado Politics.
Peters has denied these allegations. She is running for the Republican nod to become the Colorado secretary of state. The Washington Examiner reached out to her campaign for comment.
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Last week, a judge barred Peters from administering the 2022 primary and general elections in response to a lawsuit filed by current Secretary of State Jena Griswold. Griswold noted there was an FBI inquiry into Peters's alleged election equipment tampering.
In March, Peters was indicted on 10 misdemeanor and felony charges related to a breach of election equipment under her watch. Peters allegedly permitted a consultant to copy a hard drive for vote-counting equipment that was unauthorized. Leaked passwords and other material about Dominion Voting Systems surfaced shortly after the alleged incident, and authorities have tied the leak back to Mesa County.