Sigal Chattah, who has remained atop Nevada’s U.S. Attorney’s office even though her appointment expired a year ago, is illegally holding on to the post, a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals panel ruled Monday.
The three-judge panel upheld U.S. District Judge David Campbell’s disqualification of Chattah’s participation in prosecutions,
The case, Judge Eric Miller wrote, “presented the question whether the Attorney General can make someone an Acting U.S. Attorney—bypassing the usual requirement that a U.S. Attorney be confirmed by the Senate—by designating that person as the first assistant to an already-vacant office of U.S. Attorney.”
The answer, the panel ruled in a lengthy opinion, is no.
Then-Attorney General Pam Bondi appointed Chattah in March 2025 as interim U.S. attorney for a 120-day term that expired July 29 of last year. Chattah resigned just before the term expired to take the position of first assistant.
President Donald Trump’s administration contended the vacancy in the Nevada U.S. Attorney post triggered a provision of the Vacancies Reform Act of 1998 that gave Chattah another 210 days on the job as acting U.S. Attorney.
“The government’s primary argument on appeal is that Chattah automatically became the Acting U.S. Attorney under the FVRA when the Attorney General designated her as the first assistant to the vacant office of U.S. Attorney,” Miller wrote in the opinion, noting the panel disagreed.
“The maneuvers used to extend Chattah’s time atop the U.S. Attorney’s Office are not unique to the District of Nevada. The Attorney General has employed similar—though not always identical—tactics to extend the service of other temporary appointees who have not been confirmed by the Senate,” Miller wrote, noting all the courts that considered similar cases rejected the administration’s arguments.
In February, Trump appointed Las Vegas attorney George Kelesis as U.S. Attorney. He has yet to be confirmed by the Senate. His confirmation was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Originally published on nevadacurrent.com, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange.
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