The top federal prosecutor in Nevada has set Washington buzzing after documents revealed she pressed the FBI to pursue long-debunked claims of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election—claims she hoped would tilt future congressional races and place Democrats under investigation.
Sigal Chattah, sworn in this spring as Nevada’s Interim U.S. Attorney, told senior Justice Department officials in July that she delivered a thumb drive to federal agents. The drive, compiled by Nevada Republicans, contained allegations that undocumented immigrants voted and that tribal members were paid for their ballots. She also urged agents to speak with the state GOP’s attorney.
But her ambitions went far beyond election record checks. According to the internal memo, Chattah spoke of reshaping Nevada’s congressional map by purging “illegal aliens” from voter rolls, a move she suggested could reallocate census numbers and unsettle Democratic Rep. Steven Horsford’s district. She also pushed for the exoneration of six Republicans charged as fake electors in the effort to overturn Joe Biden’s win—one of whom she herself once represented.
Chattah’s remarks went further still: she called for exposing what she claimed was a conspiracy between the Biden White House and state attorneys general, dismantling voter-registration nonprofits, and probing Democratic fundraising giant ActBlue.
Legal observers say the crusade raises glaring ethical alarms. Justice Department rules bar prosecutors from pursuing cases tied to political activity or involving former clients. Chattah has a long trail of GOP ties—she once chaired Nevada’s Republican National Committee, ran for state attorney general in 2022, and served as counsel to one of the fake electors.
Former ethics officials warn her dual roles collide with rules meant to keep federal prosecutors above partisan brawls. “She’s urging an investigation that could clear her old client,” said one law professor. “That runs straight into impartiality regulations.”
The Justice Department and FBI have declined to confirm whether any investigation is actually underway. Still, Chattah told a Nevada news outlet weeks later that a probe had begun, while insisting her motives weren’t political.
Her position as acting U.S. Attorney is itself under challenge: federal defenders accuse DOJ leaders of bending personnel rules to extend her authority past its expiration. A judge will soon decide if she can stay.
Chattah, meanwhile, remains a lightning rod in a state that has already weathered years of false fraud claims. Nevada election officials previously dismissed most GOP complaints as riddled with errors and baseless suspicions.
Now, with one of the nation’s most politically sensitive federal posts, Chattah is pushing to turn those claims into a federal case—whether or not the rules, or the facts, support her.
