Nevada’s top federal prosecutor, Sigal Chattah, has ignited a firestorm after calling on the FBI to investigate Republican claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election—claims that have been widely discredited by state officials and legal experts. According to a government document obtained by Reuters, Chattah’s push for a federal probe is not just about the past; she’s hoping it will influence future congressional races and potentially alter the political landscape in Nevada.
Chattah, who was sworn in as Nevada’s Interim U.S. Attorney on April 1, 2025, met with Justice Department officials and federal agents in late July. During that meeting, she handed over a thumb drive containing data compiled by the Nevada Republican Party. The data alleges that non-citizens—referred to in the documents as “illegal aliens”—voted in the 2020 election and that members of Indian tribes received cash for ballots. Chattah also urged agents to contact the Republican Party’s attorney, according to Reuters.
Her stated goals are sweeping. Chattah told senior officials she wants to remove non-citizens from voter rolls, which could lead to a “reallocation of census numbers” that might impact the race for Nevada’s 4th congressional district, currently held by Democratic U.S. Representative Steven Horsford. She also expressed a desire to exonerate six Republicans prosecuted for posing as fake electors in a failed bid to keep Donald Trump in power after his 2020 defeat to Joe Biden. Chattah had previously defended one of the accused, and a lower court dismissed the charges; the case is still pending appeal.
But Chattah’s ambitions don’t stop there. She reportedly hopes to demonstrate what she calls an ongoing conspiracy between the Biden White House and state attorneys general. In addition, she has called for investigations into unions and non-profits that operate voter registration drives, as well as the financing of these activities by the Democratic political action committee ActBlue.
Legal experts, however, are raising red flags. Chattah’s prior legal work includes representing Republican clients, serving as Nevada’s Republican National Committee chairwoman, and running unsuccessfully in 2022 against Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford. According to court records cited by Reuters, she also represented the RNC and Nevada Republican Party in a lawsuit alleging the state failed to maintain clean voter rolls. These deep political and legal ties have prompted questions about whether she should recuse herself from any investigation touching on her former clients or political allies.
Richard Painter, who served as the White House chief ethics officer during President George W. Bush’s administration, told Reuters, “I think the ethics rule is pretty clear that when she’s in the United States Attorney’s Office, she has to recuse from any particular party matter in which she represented a client or otherwise participated personally and substantially in the private sector.”
Justice Department guidelines are explicit: prosecutors are prohibited from initiating cases based on “political association, activities, or beliefs.” The impartiality rules also generally bar government lawyers from working for a year on any matter involving a former employer or legal client. Kathleen Clark, a professor at Washington University in St. Louis, was blunt in her assessment, telling Reuters, “She is urging the Justice Department to pursue an investigation that she says is going to exonerate her former client. I believe that action on her part violates the impartiality regulation.”
Despite these concerns, Chattah has denied any political motivation. Less than two weeks after her July meeting with federal agents, she told a local news station that an FBI probe was underway and insisted her actions were not driven by politics. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office cannot comment on any ongoing investigations nor confirm their existence, but we will always abide by all DOJ ethics rules and policy guidelines, and we will follow only the facts and law in all our investigations,” a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Nevada said in a statement to Reuters.
For context, the Republican Party’s allegations of widespread voter fraud in Nevada’s 2020 election have been repeatedly investigated and dismissed by state officials. In 2021, the state concluded that most of the complaints related to voter registration records were “inaccurate or suspicious for a variety of reasons.” According to Reuters, Chattah herself echoed Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election had been stolen, further underscoring the political overtones of her current actions.
The timing of Chattah’s investigation is also notable. Her push comes as former President Trump has publicly urged Republican-led states to redraw their congressional districts to protect their majority in the upcoming midterm elections. Meanwhile, Chattah faces her own legal battles: federal public defenders have challenged the Justice Department’s maneuvers to keep her in office after her temporary appointment expired in July, and a federal judge is expected to rule soon on her status as Acting U.S. Attorney.
Greg Brower, who served as U.S. Attorney in Nevada under both President Bush and President Obama, emphasized the importance of impartiality in such high-profile cases. “It is always extremely important that U.S. Attorneys are very careful not to appear to be political in any way, both in the way they supervise investigations and the way they make charging decisions,” he told Reuters.
The stakes are high. If Chattah’s efforts succeed in altering voter rolls or census numbers, the impact could ripple through Nevada’s political landscape, affecting not only the 4th congressional district but also the broader balance of power in Congress. On the other hand, if the probe is perceived as politically motivated, it could further erode public trust in the justice system and the electoral process itself.
For now, the FBI has not commented on whether it has opened an investigation into the 2020 election fraud claims. The Justice Department has also remained tight-lipped, referring all questions back to Chattah’s office. As the legal and political drama unfolds, all eyes will be on Nevada’s courts and the federal agencies tasked with upholding the integrity of the nation’s elections.
In a state already marked by fierce partisan battles and high-stakes elections, the controversy surrounding Sigal Chattah’s probe is a stark reminder of how the fight over voting rights and election integrity continues to shape American democracy—sometimes in ways that raise as many questions as they answer.
