'This is not normal': New Trump 'chaos' explodes as DOJ official goes rogue

A new form of "chaos" is taking hold in President Donald Trump's Justice Department, a Bloomberg report warned this week, with the lead prosecutor going rogue in ways that prompted one reporter to stress, "This is not normal."

Sigal Chattah is an Israeli-born lawyer and a former RNC operative, who currently serves as the U.S. Attorney for the District of Nevada. According to a lengthy and scathing report published by Ben Penn for Bloomberg on Wednesday, during her tenure in the role, she has bucked numerous ethical norms, and "pushed to launch investigations at the behest of former clients and friends while repeatedly bypassing Justice Department orders recusing her from cases," according to several sources close to the matter.

"Chattah, a former Republican party official who took over the US attorney’s office in Nevada 14 months ago, also opened a probe targeting her past political foe, the three individuals said," Penn reported. "It is one of many circumstances in which she’s leveraged her role to advance personal interests."

He added: "The first-time prosecutor frequently sought status updates on cases despite warnings that she was disregarding recusals signed by the deputy attorney general’s office in Washington that barred her involvement in matters where she had conflicts of interest, said several individuals. Chattah also took calls from outside attorney acquaintances and intervened in their pending matters opposite her office — seeking favorable outcomes for their clients."

“It’s charitable to call it chaos,” Rick Pocker, who served as Nevada U.S. attorney under George H. W. Bush, told Bloomberg. “I don’t think she quite understands how you’re not supposed to use that office for personal or political purposes.”

Citing "interviews with two dozen Nevada lawyers and former law enforcement officials," Penn noted that Chattah's conduct in the role has "departed from longstanding department policies and traditions, unsettling her staff, law enforcement partners, and defense attorneys." Her appointment as acting U.S. Attorney is also among a few that have been deemed "invalid" in court, though she remains in office while she attempts to appeal the ruling.

Prior to her DOJ appointment, Penn explained that Chattah was a longtime Las Vegas-area attorney who gained Trump's favor for her brash personality and disdain for COVID-era restrictions, and at times, "she’s echoed the president’s confrontational style." Despite that, however, the "disruptions" she has caused "are frequently disconnected from Trump’s priorities and are instead largely of Chattah’s own making," including pushes for agents to pursue leads beneficial to her friends.

"Many of Chattah’s directives for the FBI to investigate tips from friends never led to probes, following resistance from the former Las Vegas FBI special agent in charge and from Chattah’s top deputy and criminal chief — who had a combined nearly half-century of DOJ experience," Penn explained. "However, the FBI leader’s firing and the recent retirements of Chattah’s two primary deputies have prompted concerns among former prosecutors that Chattah will escalate efforts to use the office for political purposes, such as by interfering in the midterm elections."

Her antics have won applause from some of the most outspoken MAGA boosters, including former Trump adviser Steve Bannon.

“Oh my god, she’s the best,” Bannon said about Chattah during a recent podcast. “She’s the warrior queen out in Nevada.”

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