Wednesday, May 21

In a recent voicemail from prison recorded for her supporters, former Mesa County clerk-turned-MAGA-hero Tina Peters continued to spread election conspiracy theories. It’s significant not just because it’s clear she hasn’t learned any lessons from her legal troubles but because she has the ear of President Donald Trump. Also in this week’s newsletter: The right melts down over SCOTUS’ Alien Enemies Act ruling and a conspiracy theorist GOP activist is the new public affairs director for the nation’s cybersecurity agency.

As always, thanks for reading. 

— Matt Cohen, Senior Reporter

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Election Denier Tina Peters Has Not Learned Her Lesson

Listen to Tina Peters’ full voicemail from prison here.

When former Mesa County clerk-turned-MAGA-hero Tina Peters was sentenced to nine years in prison by Colorado District Judge Matthew Barrett last October, he had some harsh words for her. 

“Your lies are well documented and these convictions are serious,” Barrett said. “I’m convinced you’d do it all over again if you could. You are a privileged person. You are as privileged as they come. You used that for power and fame.”

Barrett was right. 

Back in 2021, Peters — an avowed election denier and right-wing conspiracy theorist — allowed a Stop the Steal activist unauthorized access to the Mesa County election office and used the stolen identity of a software engineer to copy sensitive election data to post online to right-wing blogs. She was convicted of three felony counts of attempting to influence a public servant, one felony count of conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation and a slew of misdemeanors.

But since then, Peters hasn’t backed down. She recently left a voicemail from prison for MAGA podcaster and self-proclaimed “election integrity” advocate Steve Stern, which he played on his Stern American podcast. In the voicemail, Peters painted herself as a political victim and reiterated false 2020 election conspiracy theories involving Dominion voting machines.

“Most of you know all this but Colorado being the headquarters of Dominion… And if you don’t know the background of how Dominion was started, please go to my website, TinaPeters.us, and listen to the 17-minute video of Gary Berntsen on there talking about — he was a 31-year CIA whistleblower — about the origins of these voting machines,” she said. “It’s very informative, pass it along to your friends.”

Peters also railed against Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold (D), repeating more 2020 election conspiracies and falsely claiming that Griswold deleted 29,000 election files. Both state and local election officials have explained that all the election files were properly backed up and the evidence Peters presented were log files that did not relate to elections. 

After playing Peters’ voicemail, Stern spent the rest of his nearly three-hour broadcast interviewing friends and supporters of Peters. All of whom repeated election conspiracy theories and painted a false portrait of Peters not as a criminal but the victim of political persecution for uncovering a mass conspiracy. 

At one point Marty Waldman — a friend and supporter of Peters — joined the podcast from Dallas, Texas, across the street from the grassy knoll where President John F. Kennedy was killed. 

"The assassination of JFK is really no different than the silencing of Tina Peters because she exposed the new assasination of the will of the people,” Waldman said. 

Peters and her supporters normally would fall under the category of extremely fringe activists who can be safely ignored. But Peters caught the attention of President Donald Trump, who recently directed the U.S. Department of Justice to “take all necessary action” to secure her release from prison. 

It’s a good example of how the right-wing conspiracy theorists who were once at the fringe of the GOP are now being fully embraced as folk heroes — with Trump working tirelessly to reward them for their efforts to thwart democracy. Which means the conspiracy theories will keep coming, more deranged and more widely embraced than ever before.

“There's so many things which I can’t tell you right now that are going on because these calls are recorded,” Peters said at the end of her voicemail. “Keep praying for me, keep reaching out to our great President.” Listen to Tina Peters’ full voicemail from prison here.

The Right Melts Down Over SCOTUS’ Alien Enemies Act Ruling

Last week the U.S. Supreme Court issued another scathing rebuke of Trump, ruling that the administration violated the due process rights of Venezuelan migrants when it used the Alien Enemies Act (AEA) to quickly deport people. 

In a 7-2 ruling, the court extended its pause on AEA removals from the Northern District of Texas but didn’t ultimately decide if the Trump administration’s proclamation of the AEA was legal. The court instead asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit to make that determination, along with how much notice is due to those targeted by the AEA.

Trump and many of his allies on the right did not take SCOTUS’ order well. 

“THE SUPREME COURT WON’T ALLOW US TO GET CRIMINALS OUT OF OUR COUNTRY!” Trump posted on his TruthSocial platform. 

“The Supreme Court just betrayed Trump on deporting illegal aliens who are gang members under the Alien Enemies Act,” wrote MAGA influencer Joey Mannarino. “The Supreme Court has been captured by liberal activists. This is a disgrace!”

“So it’s legal for a president to ship millions of illegal aliens into our country but it’s illegal to send them home?” asked Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.) “The system is broken. The Supreme Court failed us. Whose country is this anymore?”

But a more insidious message is also emerging on the right in the wake of SCOTUS’ order: The government should defy the Supreme Court altogether and continue to illegally deport migrants without any due process. 

“Ignore the Supreme Court. Deport every illegal. Arrest anyone and everyone who tries to stop you,” right-wing media personality Jesse Kelly said on X.

“Do what Harvard does, Mr. President: Say absolutely you’re complying with the Supreme Court, and then go ahead and do whatever you want to do,” conservative commentator Ann Coulter said on X.

The Trump administration has already defied court orders, but the latest right-wing chatter over this SCOTUS order is perhaps even more insidious. Coupled with Stephen Miller’s threats to suspend habeas corpus — the constitutional right of those who have been detained to receive due process in court for their release — the right’s latest comments about the Supreme Court are nothing short of a direct threat to the rule of law and the judicial system.

Trump Appoints Georgia Republican Activist As Public Affairs Director Of Federal Agency That Oversees Election Security

Marci McCarthy, the chair of the DeKalb Co., Georgia Republican party, was appointed last week as the public affairs director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). 

It’s a significant — and worrisome — appointment given both CISA’s mission and McCarthy’s background. 

CISA is the federal agency responsible for the nation’s cybersecurity, which includes election security. Helping state and local election officials protect elections from foreign and domestic cybersecurity threats was a crucial component of CISA’s work — at least until recently, when the Trump administration cut funding to the agency’s election security efforts.

While McCarthy certainly has the cybersecurity credentials for a top job in CISA — her resume includes top positions at various cybersecurity advisory firms — she also has a history with election-related conspiracy theories. As the chair of the DeKalb County Republican Party, McCarthy was involved in a failed lawsuit that claimed the integrity of Georgia’s voting machines were compromised ahead of the 2020 election. A judge tossed the lawsuit in 2024, pointing to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s (R) compliance with state law to certify Dominion voting machines before the 2020 election.

“Although applicant may firmly believe that the secretary’s current processes are ‘nonsensical’ and ‘appalling,’ and good-faith concerns over how to better secure our elections should be taken seriously, this matter is currently one that must be deferred to the policymaking branches,” the judge wrote in the dismissal.

Despite the judge’s ruling, McCarthy continued to express doubt in the integrity of voting machines. 

“We’re remaining steadfast in our commitment to ensuring fitness, faith, integrity and trust in our elections,” McCarthy said. “I’m very concerned about the vulnerability of these systems going into our elections.”