Story perspectives

Trump Threats Colorado, Cancels Grants After Tina Peters Case

8/18/2026

Summary

Story summary

President Donald Trump threatened Colorado over Tina Peters’ imprisonment, prompting a call with five agencies.
Emily Underwood, a White House assistant, emailed a call summary after Trump’s Truth Social post, prompting Transportation and Energy Departments to cancel hundreds of millions of dollars in Colorado grants.
Judge R. Brooke Jackson called the email “phenomenal” evidence of a president targeting state, while Governor Jared Polis and reporters labeled actions an extortion plot.

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Story summary

President Donald Trump threatened Colorado over Tina Peters’ imprisonment, prompting a call with five agencies.
Emily Underwood, a White House assistant, emailed a call summary after Trump’s Truth Social post, prompting Transportation and Energy Departments to cancel hundreds of millions of dollars in Colorado grants.
Judge R. Brooke Jackson called the email “phenomenal” evidence of a president targeting state, while Governor Jared Polis and reporters labeled actions an extortion plot.