Latest news with #SigalChattah
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Get busted for a mango, but not fentanyl; Las Vegas airport has no drug dogs, acting U.S. attorney says
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — There are no drug dogs regularly placed at Harry Reid International Airport, Sigal Chattah, Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Nevada, told the 8 News Now Investigators. Chattah, newly appointed by President Donald Trump, said she is working to change this. 'We have agricultural dogs, so you could get busted for bringing in a mango, but you know, you bring in 10 pounds of fentanyl and there you might not get caught,' Chattah said in an exclusive interview with the 8 News Now Investigators. 'People don't need to bring drugs through the airport.' Sources confirmed to the 8 News Now Investigators that the airport, identified as the seventh busiest airport in the United States, has not had regularly placed drug dogs for years. Occasionally, other agencies may bring their drug dogs to the airport, but this is not on a regular basis, according to sources. The 8 News Now Investigators reached out to Harry Reid International Airport. A spokesperson confirmed Clark County's Department of Aviation and its K-9 division has dogs specializing in explosives, not drugs. When asked whether she believed drug dogs were not placed at the airport because it would be bad for tourism, Chattah said she did not doubt that. 'We don't want to ruin Las Vegas' reputation of the party town. That's going to change tremendously,' she told the 8 News Now Investigators. 'Today, if you want to buy drugs, I mean, and it's in plain sight. You know, you could go on Instagram and somebody could post, 'Is it snowing in Vegas?' And they're here from out of town, and drug dealers know what that means. So today the drug dealers coming to your hotel room, coming to your hotel, so there's no reason why we shouldn't be able to interdict large quantities of drugs through the airports.' Fentanyl is the biggest problem, with methamphetamine being next, according to the Chattah. She said she wants to target drug trafficking in her new role, along with human trafficking. 'Historically, there has not been an incentive to go after human trafficking,' Chattah told the 8 News Now Investigators. 'We're going to go after human trafficking, yes, yes, and you know, human trafficking includes also, by the way, not just the sex trafficking, but also human trafficking as regards to labor, you know, you have a lot of labor trafficking and it's, it's heartbreaking.' Chattah also said her office has the ability to investigate public utility companies under antitrust violations. She specifically referenced price-fixing and price-gouging. 'The public utility companies have been abusing consumers,' she said. Chattah also said an election case is underway. President Donald Trump appointed Chattah as the acting U.S. attorney for the District of Nevada through an unprecedented legal maneuver last week. She resigned from her position as interim U.S. Attorney before the 120-day deadline expired. This triggered the federal vacancy act, which allowed the president to appoint Chattah to the new position and remain in the office, according to Chattah. Chattah said she was also appointed as a special prosecutor for the United States Attorney General, resulting in a dual role. Democratic U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen issued a statement against Chattah's appointment. 'This is an outrageous attempt by the Trump Administration to try to install extremist Sigal Chattah as Acting U.S. Attorney for Nevada and keep her in that role indefinitely. Trump knows Chattah would be soundly rejected by both sides of the aisle if she had to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate, which is why he's relying on an unconstitutional maneuver to illegally extend her temporary appointment that was set to expire today,' Rosen said. 'I will continue doing everything I can to block any permanent appointment of extremist Sigal Chattah as Nevada's U.S. Attorney. She is deeply unfit for this role, and I call on the legal system to immediately remove her.' Chattah addressed her opponents and said there is nothing they can do to change Trump's recent appointment. Chattah is a former Republican National Committee woman, made an unsuccessful run for Nevada Attorney General, and has made headlines for controversial statements she has made. To reach investigative reporter Vanessa Murphy, email vmurphy@ Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘I know where a lot of the bodies are buried': Acting U.S. attorney for Nevada responds to critics
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Sigal Chattah, newly appointed acting U.S. attorney for the District of Nevada, responded to her critics in an exclusive interview with the 8 News Now Investigators. Nevada's two United States senators, Catherine Cortez-Masto and Jacky Rosen, both democrats, have been vocal against Chattah's appointment. 'You know, a lot of these people, I know that they're scared because I know where a lot of the bodies are buried because I come from the defense world,' Chattah said. 'Without saying too much about my previous experience as a defense attorney, but when you played that side, you know where all the bodies are buried. Sometimes we even choose the location to bury them.' President Donald Trump appointed Chattah as the acting U.S. attorney for the District of Nevada through an unprecedented legal maneuver last week. She resigned from her position as interim U.S. Attorney before the 120-day deadline expired. This triggered the federal vacancy act, which allowed the president to appoint Chattah to the new position and remain in the office, according to Chattah. Chattah is a former Republican National Committee woman, made an unsuccessful run for Nevada Attorney General, and has made headlines for controversial statements she has made. Rosen issued a statement against Chattah's appointment.'This is an outrageous attempt by the Trump Administration to try to install extremist Sigal Chattah as Acting U.S. Attorney for Nevada and keep her in that role indefinitely. Trump knows Chattah would be soundly rejected by both sides of the aisle if she had to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate, which is why he's relying on an unconstitutional maneuver to illegally extend her temporary appointment that was set to expire today,' Rosen said. 'I will continue doing everything I can to block any permanent appointment of extremist Sigal Chattah as Nevada's U.S. Attorney. She is deeply unfit for this role, and I call on the legal system to immediately remove her.' Cortez-Masto also released a statement. 'By bypassing the Senate and naming Sigal Chattah as an 'acting' U.S. attorney, it's clear the Trump administration knows Ms. Chattah is unconfirmable,' Cortez-Mastro said. 'This unprecedented maneuver sets a dangerous standard and risks holding up critical criminal cases just so that President Trump can play political games. At the end of the day, my position remains the same: Sigal Chattah is unfit for this role.' Chattah said the law allowed the opportunity for her appointment. 'I took that opportunity. It's not unconstitutional,' Chattah told the 8 News Now Investigators. 'It was not done in a nefarious manner, and there's nothing that politicians can do about it.'Chattah said she was also appointed as a special prosecutor for the United States attorney general, resulting in a dual role. She discussed priorities for her new position, including targeting drug trafficking, violent crimes, public corruption, and election cases. The Trump administration budgeted money to allow Chattah to hire additional federal prosecutors, she said. To reach investigative reporter Vanessa Murphy, email vmurphy@ Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Federal election case to come in Nevada, acting U.S. attorney says
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Sigal Chattah, newly appointed acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Nevada, told the 8 News Now Investigators that an election case is underway. 'We will be making an announcement in the next few weeks,' Chattah said in an exclusive interview. She insisted that the prosecution of an election case is not a political move. 'We prosecute the crime, not the criminal. Period. End of story, ' she said. 'It's a non-partisan issue. Whether you're a Republican or a Democrat, or you know, you're legally here, illegally here, whatever your crime is, we prosecute the criminal.' Chattah pointed to the National Voter Registration Act, enacted in 1993, which sets guidelines for voter registration, referred to cash for ballots, and claimed voter rolls were not clean in recent elections. The 8 News Now Investigators found no confirmed cases or prosecutions for cash for ballots as of August 5, 2025. The Republican National Committee filed a lawsuit against the Secretary of State in 2024, alleging that Nevada did not clean up voter rolls, and that three counties had more active registered voters than adults who were actually eligible to vote, according to court records. The case is pending. President Donald Trump appointed Chattah as the acting U.S. attorney for the District of Nevada through an unprecedented legal maneuver last week. She resigned from her position as interim U.S. Attorney before the 120-day deadline expired. This triggered the federal vacancy act, which allowed the president to appoint Chattah to the new position and remain in the office, according to Chattah. Chattah is a former Republican National Committee woman, made an unsuccessful run for Nevada Attorney General, and has made headlines for the controversial statements she has made. Rosen issued a statement against Chattah's appointment. 'This is an outrageous attempt by the Trump Administration to try to install extremist Sigal Chattah as Acting U.S. Attorney for Nevada and keep her in that role indefinitely. Trump knows Chattah would be soundly rejected by both sides of the aisle if she had to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate, which is why he's relying on an unconstitutional maneuver to illegally extend her temporary appointment that was set to expire today,' Rosen said. 'I will continue doing everything I can to block any permanent appointment of extremist Sigal Chattah as Nevada's U.S. Attorney. She is deeply unfit for this role, and I call on the legal system to immediately remove her.' Cortez-Masto also released a statement. 'By bypassing the Senate and naming Sigal Chattah as an 'acting' U.S. attorney, it's clear the Trump administration knows Ms. Chattah is unconfirmable,' Cortez-Mastro said. 'This unprecedented maneuver sets a dangerous standard and risks holding up critical criminal cases just so that President Trump can play political games. At the end of the day, my position remains the same: Sigal Chattah is unfit for this role.' Chattah said the law allowed the opportunity for her appointment. 'I took that opportunity. It's not unconstitutional,' Chattah told the 8 News Now Investigators. 'It was not done in a nefarious manner, and there's nothing that politicians can do about it.' Chattah said she was also appointed as a special prosecutor for the United States Attorney General, resulting in a dual role. She discussed priorities for her new position, including targeting drug trafficking, violent crimes, public corruption, and election cases. To reach investigative reporter Vanessa Murphy, email vmurphy@ Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
State Republicans say Sigal Chattah nominated for Nevada U.S. Attorney post
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Nevada Republicans are saying Sigal Chattah has been nominated to serve as interim U.S. Attorney overseeing Nevada. Chattah ran against Democrat Aaron Ford in 2022, but Ford was re-elected as Nevada Attorney General. Sue Fahimi is currently serving as acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Nevada, a position vacated by Democrat Jason Frierson on Dec. 30, 2024, before President Donald Trump took office. Chattah is a civil and criminal defense attorney who previously served on the Las Vegas Planning Commission. She has also served as a member of the Southern Nevada Disciplinary Board of the State Bar of Nevada. The U.S. Senate is tasked with confirming U.S. Attorney nominations. 'Today, we congratulate our own National Committeewoman Sigal Chattah, who is nominated to join the Department of Justice as the interim US Attorney overseeing Nevada,' according to an announcement from the Nevada Republican Party. NOV. 7 REPORT: Nevada Republican committeewoman dismisses 'meritless conspiracy theories' amid split election results They described her as 'a fierce defender of personal liberties, best known for her work reopening churches in Nevada after their unconstitutional shutdown.' The state placed limits on church services during the COVID-19 pandemic. 'We are thrilled that President Trump and Attorney General Bondi have the warrior they need in Nevada,' Nevada GOP chairman Michael J. McDonald said. 'Sigal will rigorously advocate for the President's priorities and investigate corruption throughout the Silver State. Under Sigal's leadership, it will be a bad day to be a bad guy — justice will be served.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
