Chattah named Nevada’s next interim US attorney; Critic calls her ‘grossly unfit’

Las Vegas attorney and RNC national committeewoman Sigal Chattah will be Nevada’s next interim U.S. attorney, she said Friday.

“Obviously, it’s an honor to serve the state of Nevada as interim U.S. attorney, and I’m grateful to President Trump and Attorney General (Pamela) Bondi for entrusting me with this opportunity,” Chattah said in a brief phone interview.

The U.S. attorney general is responsible for the appointment, Chattah said. She will be the interim U.S. attorney starting on April 1 until she is nominated for the role and confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Chattah said.

“The purpose is to administrate justice equally, to ensure that public safety is the utmost priority and to ensure that public corruption does not happen under this administration’s watch,” she said of her goals for the office.

Trisha Young, spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s office in Nevada, confirmed the appointment in an email.

In a statement, Nevada Republican Party Chairman Michael McDonald said, “We are thrilled that President Trump and Attorney General Bondi have the warrior they need in Nevada. Sigal will rigorously advocate for the President’s priorities and investigate corruption throughout the Silver State. Under Sigal’s leadership, it will be a bad day to be a bad guy — justice will be served.”

Nevada State Democratic Party Chair Daniele Monroe-Moreno was less enthusiastic.

“Sigal Chattah is grossly unfit to serve as Nevada’s US Attorney,” she said in a statement. “While running for Attorney General, Chattah said she would use public office to go after her political opponents and after losing the election she sued to make voting harder.”

She added: “This is the same person who said that Nevada’s first Black Attorney General should ‘hang from a f-ing crane’. That, her significant ties to January 6th rioters, and much more disqualify her from being anywhere near the United States Justice Department.”

The latter comment refers to a 2021 text exchange in which Chattah said Aaron Ford, who is Black and now serves as Nevada’s attorney general, “should be hanging from a (expletive) crane.”

She lost to Ford in 2022 and previously said the expression was “tongue in cheek” and did not have “a racial context.”

“I really don’t care what Daniele Moreno says,” Chattah said Friday when a reporter read her the statement.

Chattah has been known for taking on high-profile cases and championing conservative causes.

She filed lawsuits targeting COVID-19 restrictions. She represented plaintiffs in a suit, which a federal judge dismissed, aiming to block a new Nevada law that made it a felony to harass election workers.

She represented Vem Miller, the man who was arrested outside a California rally during Donald Trump’s presidential campaign with what authorities said were loaded guns.

The federal suit she filed on his behalf claimed officers had violated his constitutional rights and that Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco “fabricated allegations” when he said his deputies likely “prevented the third assassination attempt.”

Last year, she also filed a federal suit against UNLV, the Board of Regents and pro-Palestinian groups on behalf of a Jewish student, claiming UNLV broke anti-terrorism laws by allowing pro-Palestinian groups to protest as a “stand in” for Hamas.

She also represented Shawn Meehan, one of the six Republicans accused of submitting fake elector documents that declared Trump the winner of the 2020 election. The case was dismissed in Clark County and refiled in Carson City. McDonald was also one of the electors.

Chattah graduated from Widener University School of Law in Pennsylvania and has been licensed to practice in Nevada since 2002. She was born in Israel and came to the United States as a teenager before graduating from Valley High School and UNLV, according to her firm’s website.

She was elected Republican national committeewoman at the state Republican Central Committee’s meeting in January 2023.

The current acting U.S. attorney for Nevada is Sue Fahami.

Contact Noble Brigham at nbrigham@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BrighamNoble on X.