What’s Happening in Nevada
Nevada’s acting U.S. Attorney, Sigal Chattah, has reportedly asked the FBI to investigate claims about illegal voting in the 2020 election, according to a government document seen by Reuters. She allegedly handed federal agents a thumb drive with data from Nevada’s Republican Party about people in the country illegally who supposedly voted, and Native Americans who allegedly received cash for their ballots.
According to the document, Chattah said she wants to clean up voter rolls by removing non-citizens. The document also shows she said she wants to exonerate six Republicans who were prosecuted for posing as alternate electors after the controversial 2020 election.
Here’s the thing: Even conservatives who care deeply about election integrity are raising their eyebrows at how this is being handled.
Why Conservatives Should Care About Election Integrity
For limited government conservatives, fair elections are everything. If people who aren’t citizens can vote, that waters down the voice of legal voters. If voter rolls are messy and outdated, that opens the door for fraud.
Cleaning up voter rolls is legitimate work. Making sure only citizens vote is common sense. These are real concerns that deserve serious attention.
The problem is the ethics questions swirling around this particular investigation — and some reportedly confused claims being made along the way.
A Confusing Claim About Census Numbers
According to the document, Chattah told senior officials she wants to remove “illegal aliens” from voter rolls, which would possibly lead to a “reallocation of census numbers” and affect Nevada’s 4th congressional district race, currently held by Democratic Representative Steven Horsford.
Here’s the problem with Chattah’s logic: Voter rolls and census counts are two completely different things. The census counts everyone living in a place, regardless of whether they’re citizens or registered voters. Removing someone from voter rolls doesn’t change census numbers at all.
This kind of confusion doesn’t help the cause of election integrity. It makes the whole effort look less serious.
The Ethics Problem That Won’t Go Away
Here’s where things get really sticky. Until April, Chattah was a private lawyer. She defended one of those ‘fake’ electors. She worked for the Republican National Committee. She even ran for Nevada Attorney General as a Republican in 2022.
Then she became the top federal prosecutor in Nevada. Now she’s reportedly investigating the same issues and people she was involved with just months ago.
Richard Painter, who was the chief ethics officer under President George W. Bush, put it simply:
“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.”
Kathleen Clark, a law professor, was more blunt. Chattah is reportedly :
“urging the Justice Department to pursue an investigation that she says is going to exonerate her former client,”
Clark said:
“I believe that action on her part violates the impartiality regulation.”
Even more troubling: A court filing shows Chattah withdrew from the alternate elector case on April 7. But the date on the document appears altered — the 7 is crossed out and replaced with a 1. That would be April 1, the same day she was sworn in as U.S. Attorney.
What the Rules Say
Justice Department guidelines are clear. Prosecutors can’t start cases based on “political association, activities, or beliefs.”
They also can’t work on matters involving former clients for at least a year.
Government lawyers are supposed to avoid even the appearance of bias. That’s not just a nice idea — it protects the justice system from becoming a political weapon.
Greg Brower served as U.S. Attorney in Nevada under both Bush and Obama.
He said:
“It is always extremely important that U.S. Attorneys are very careful not to appear to be political in any way.”
What Happens Next
According to the document, Chattah also reportedly wants to investigate unions and nonprofits that run voter registration drives. She allegedly claims the Democratic PAC ActBlue is financing “illegal acts.” She reportedly hopes to prove a conspiracy between the Biden White House and state attorneys general.
A federal judge is expected to rule soon on whether Chattah can even keep her job. Federal public defenders say the Justice Department used illegal moves to keep her in power after her temporary appointment expired in July.
If the investigation moves forward, it will face intense scrutiny. Every charging decision will be examined for political bias.
Reuters could not determine if the FBI had actually opened an election fraud probe, but Chattah reportedly told a local news station less than two weeks later that such a probe was underway. In that interview, she denied being motivated by politics.
What Conservatives Can Do
Real election integrity work matters. But it has to be done right, by people who understand the issues and don’t have obvious conflicts of interest.
Limited government conservatives understand that no one — not prosecutors, not politicians, not anyone — should be above the law or free from ethical standards. This brewing scandal tests whether we really mean it.
The issue isn’t whether voter rolls should be clean — they should be. The issue is whether this particular prosecutor should be the one doing it, given her obvious conflicts and apparent confusion about basic facts.
A Justice Department spokesperson declined to answer questions about the probe. A spokeswoman for Chattah’s office said:
“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.”
The opinions expressed by contributors are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Nevada News & Views. This article was written with the assistance of AI. Please verify information and consult additional sources as needed.
