Judge Disqualifies Trump-Appointed Nevada U.S. Attorney

U.S. District Judge David G. Campbell ruled that Sigal Chattah is not validly serving as the acting U.S. attorney for the District of Nevada and disqualified her from supervising four criminal prosecutions. He found the Justice Department violated the Federal Vacancies Reform Act by designating Chattah’s first assistant to convert her March interim appointment into an acting role in July, and ordered prosecutors on the cases to file statements that they are not being supervised by her while declining to dismiss the indictments. Chattah’s installation in March and move to acting status in July prompted objections from more than 100 retired judges and defense challenges over her unconfirmed status and controversial record. The decision is the second recent setback to the administration’s serial temporary-appointment strategy, coming after an August ruling in New Jersey, and is likely to spur similar challenges in other districts.