Colorado cites White House email as key evidence in lawsuit against Trump administration

Attorneys for the State of Colorado say a newly uncovered White House email provides crucial evidence in their lawsuit alleging the Trump administration retaliated against the state over election policies and the prosecution of former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters.

The email surfaced during an Aug. 11 discovery hearing and was the subject of extensive discussion in federal court. According to an official transcript obtained by CBS Colorado, the judge described the document in striking terms.

"I've never seen anything like it. I've never even imagined something like it," the judge said during the hearing.

Colorado's lawsuit alleges the Trump administration orchestrated an "unconstitutional scheme to attack and punish the state," according to court filings.

State attorneys referred to the email as a "smoking gun" during the hearing, arguing it supports their claims that actions taken against Colorado were coordinated at the highest levels of government.

According to the transcript, the email was sent at 2:43 a.m. Dec. 15 by Emily Underwood of the White House Executive Office. It directed officials from multiple federal departments and agencies, including the Departments of Transportation, Agriculture, Interior and Energy, as well as the Office of Management and Budget, to participate in a conference call later that day.

The email they say instructed recipients to come prepared to discuss "immediate actions that your department or agency can take with respect to Colorado."

During the hearing, state attorneys argued the call was organized shortly after the president attempted to pardon Peters. They contend the meeting preceded what they described as a "week of attacks on Colorado," including hundreds of millions of dollars in transportation and energy funding cuts, efforts to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research and a denial of disaster relief assistance.

Colorado attorneys used the email as part of their argument that the Executive Office of the President should be required to turn over additional records related to those actions.

According to the transcript, attorneys representing the Department of Justice did not dispute the existence of the email. Instead, they argued the Executive Office is protected from the state's discovery demands and that Colorado must first exhaust other avenues for obtaining information.

Justice Department attorneys also argued that requiring the release of additional records would create an undue burden.

The judge largely sided with Colorado's request, according to the transcript, ordering the release of additional information as the lawsuit moves forward.