LAS VEGAS — In a stinging rebuke to the Trump administration’s legal maneuvering, a federal judge has disqualified acting U.S. Attorney Sigal Chattah from overseeing multiple high-profile prosecutions in Nevada, ruling that her extended role without Senate confirmation is illegal.
The decision, handed down Tuesday by U.S. District Judge David Campbell, comes amid growing scrutiny of Trump’s strategy to install loyalists in key DOJ posts, echoing a similar setback for another Trump ally in New Jersey.
Details of the Incident
Chattah, a MAGA firebrand and vocal proponent of 2020 election fraud theories, was tapped as interim U.S. attorney for Nevada in March 2025 for a 120-day stint that was set to expire in July.
But the administration reclassified her as “acting” U.S. attorney, stretching her term by another 210 days—until February 2026—without the usual Senate vetting.
Defense attorneys in four separate cases challenged the move, arguing her authority lapsed months ago, and Campbell sided with them in a blistering 32-page opinion.
“Given the Court’s conclusion that Ms. Chattah is not validly serving as Acting U.S. Attorney, her involvement in these cases would be unlawful,” Campbell wrote.
“The Court will disqualify Ms. Chattah from participating in or supervising Defendants’ prosecutions.”
The judge, a George W. Bush appointee known for his no-nonsense style, didn’t mince words: Chattah’s continued oversight would violate federal law, forcing the DOJ to scramble for replacements in ongoing criminal matters.
Shady Data Surfaces
Chattah’s rocky tenure has been anything but low-key.
Just a day before the ruling, she urged the FBI to probe alleged voter fraud in Nevada’s 2020 election, claiming data showed undocumented immigrants voting—and even getting paid for ballots.
She’s also vowed to clear six Republicans charged with posing as fake electors to keep Trump in power that year, a case spearheaded by Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford.
Those plans now hang in limbo as her office reels from the disqualifications.
A fixture in Nevada’s conservative circles, Chattah ran her own Las Vegas law firm and served as counsel for the state Republican Party before her unsuccessful 2022 bid for attorney general.
Her appointment was hailed by Trump allies as a win for “America First” justice, but critics slammed it as cronyism from day one.
The Case with Alina Habba
The Nevada fallout mirrors a parallel debacle in New Jersey, where acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba—Trump’s former personal lawyer—was deemed illegally serving by a state judge in August.
Habba, undeterred, blasted the decision on Fox News with Sean Hannity, stating, “I am the pick of the president, I am the pick of Pam Bondi, our attorney general, and I will serve this country like I have for the last several years in any capacity.
We will not fall to rogue judges, we will not fall to people trying to be political when they should just be doing their job: respecting the president.”
Neither the DOJ nor Chattah’s office has commented publicly on the ruling, but legal experts say it exposes vulnerabilities in Trump’s post-inauguration playbook.
By reclassifying interim picks as “acting” officials, the administration has skirted Senate oversight on dozens of roles, from U.S. attorneys to agency heads.
“This is a wake-up call,” one anonymous federal prosecutor told The Daily Beast.
“If judges keep striking these down, the whole house of cards could tumble.”
What’s Next?
For Nevada’s federal court docket, the disqualifications mean delays in sensitive cases—from drug trafficking rings to white-collar probes—that Chattah’s team had been steering.
Defense lawyers hailed the decision as a victory for due process, with one attorney noting it ensures “prosecutors who actually follow the law.”
As midterms heat up, the episode could fuel Democratic attacks on Trump’s DOJ as a politicized weapon.
With more challenges brewing in other districts, Chattah’s ouster might just be the first domino to fall in a broader legal showdown over executive power.
Will we continue to see a pattern here following Chattah’s and Habba’s incidents?
At this time, it seems MAGA lawyers are facing a slew of setbacks and challenges.
It wouldn’t be surprising if we did.
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