Judge Disqualifies Nevada Acting U.S. Attorney Sigal Chattah

The case challenging Chattah's authority to hold the top federal prosecutor's post in Nevada has similarities to a lawsuit targeting acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli in California's Central District.

A federal judge on Tuesday disqualified the acting U.S. attorney in Nevada from involvement in cases, finding in a challenge brought by four criminal defendants that her continuing service amounted to an end-run around congressional authority.

Sigal Chattah, a Las Vegas attorney, had been serving as the top federal prosecutor in Nevada since March 28, when U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi appointed her interim U.S. attorney. President Donald Trump has not nominated Chattah to the position, a move that would likely face opposition from Nevada's two Democratic U.S. senators.

One day before her 120-day appointment was set to expire, Chattah resigned and Bondi announced she would become a "special attorney " in the U.S. Department of Justice. Bondi then reassigned the existing first attorney in the Nevada district and replaced her with Chattah, declaring she was now acting U.S. attorney.

Senior U.S. District Judge David Campbell of Arizona said such maneuvering to keep Chattah in her post without approval by the Nevada federal bench or confirmation by the U.S. Senate violated the Federal Vacancies Reform Act.

"In short, the FVRA is a carefully crafted assertion of Congress’s power under Article II, section 2, clause 2 of the Constitution," Campbell wrote. "Its purpose would be defeated if the Executive Branch—the very branch Congress was trying to constrain—could choose whomever it wanted, whenever it wanted, and fill the vacancy simply by declaring that person to be first assistant."

Campbell was assigned to hear the case after all judges on the Nevada federal bench recused themselves.

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to the ruling.

Campbell's order marks the second time a judge has disqualified a Trump-appointed U.S. attorney following the expiration of their initial 120-day appointment term. A judge in August ruled that Alina Habba was illegally holding the top federal prosecutor's job in New Jersey after her term expired on July 1. The Justice Department has appealed the judge's determination.

Those cases have implications for acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli of California's Central District. Like Chattah, the Trump administration kept the former state assemblyman installed as leader of the Los Angeles office after his initial term ended in July by a series of position maneuvers.

Essayli, too, has been challenged by criminal defendants who argue he has no authority to oversee their cases. A hearing in that case is set for Oct. 10.
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In Nevada, Campbell refused to dismiss the defendants' indictments, finding that assistant U.S. attorneys in the office have the power to prosecute their cases. The judge gave prosecutors seven days to file statements confirming that Chattah is not supervising their work.