LAS VEGAS (KLAS) – Sigal Chattah, Interim U.S Attorney for the District of Nevada, sat
down with the 8 News Now Investigators for her first interview with a Nevada news outlet.
Chattah, the former Republican National Committee woman who made an unsuccessful run for Nevada Attorney General, discussed her priorities as she leads the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Las Vegas, which includes mirroring the Trump administration’s priorities. Chattah also addressed past controversies, immigration, and the recent presidential pardon of Michele Fiore.
Chattah: We truly, truly have every type of crime. Whether it comes to public corruption, whether it comes to human trafficking, whether it comes to narco trafficking. We do have gangs here. We do have MS13 and TDA and immigration issues.
8NN: As far as immigration, there are different interpretations about how the Trump administration is or isn’t violating court orders. What is your interpretation?
Chattah: I view the immigration laws, first of all, the immigration
code is fundamentally a legislation. It is law, and the minute you
infuse politics with the law, that’s when things become tricky. So you
know, coupled with the fact that the president of the United States
has plenary power, okay, under Article Two. So one of the issues that
we’ve got is you’re infusing politics. You’re taking out Article Two
powers and you’re destroying the law that’s on the books. You know, there’s no discretion in these types of laws. It’s not like, you know, discretion in sentencing, okay? When you have a
law that is clear, that law needs to be applied, and I think what
you’ve seen through the prior administration is that you’ve had the
law eroded based on politics, and that’s how I look at it.
8NN: Are you talking, so are you referring to perhaps, the judges’
politics who are making the decisions? Is that…am I understanding
that correctly?
Chattah: Yeah, absolutely.
8NN: How closely are you working with I.C.E.?
Chattah: Oh, I mean I don’t have coffee with them every day. How
closely are we working with I.C.E.? They are no different than any
other agency we work with, whether it’s H.S.I., the F.B.I., they’re
all part of law enforcement.
8NN: What has surprised you about how this office runs, and are you
making any significant staffing changes?
Chattah: I haven’t fired one person, not at all.
8NN: Should President Trump have pardoned Michele Fiore?
Chattah: You know, again, President Trump has plenary Article Two
powers. I don’t have an opinion on that. I have not talked to Michele
for months. I wish her all the best of luck, and you know, may God
protect her.
8NN: Is she a friend?
Chattah: She used to be my friend, yes.
8NN: Not anymore…
Chattah: We haven’t talked.
8NN: Do you believe she misused that money?
Chattah: Well, the jury thought so. My belief in that doesn’t matter. There was a beyond a reasonable doubt decision.
8NN: You could be considered a controversial figure in Nevada.
Chattah: Absolutely yes.
8NN: You came under fire for a text message about Aaron Ford,
saying something like he should be hanged from a crane. It was a
personal conversation. You had also tweeted last year, you referred to
Jamaal Bowman. You referred to him as an anti-Semitic ghetto rat. What
would you say to individuals who hear this rhetoric and may think
you’re racist?
Chattah: Okay, well, the comment from the personal conversation that I had
about Aaron Ford, that’s a quote from the movie Red Sea Diving Resort. I just don’t know why everybody has taken it to the level they did. You know, saying that I’m racist, is, you know, look, my mother is Yemenite. I mean, I don’t know what to say about that. I’m just, there’s nothing to say. I mean, I’m not. I’m not racist.
8NN: You’ve used the word trannies, which some people find
offensive. Do you feel like in this position, you might use more
politically correct language and tone language like that down?
Chattah: In the context of this office, you know, there’s decorum that
exists in federal government that does not exist in my
private life, okay. In my personal life, if you and I are out for
drinks, I’m going to have a little bit of a different tone than if you
and I are here in the office.
8NN: What is your status as Republican National Committeewoman?
Chattah: I am on leave as Republican National Committeewoman, completely.
8NN: Senators Cortez Masto and Rosen said they’ll fight your
permanent appointment. They referred to you as an extremist. Are you
an extremist?
Chattah: I don’t think I’m an extremist. There’s no, you know, there’s
not an extremist bone in my body.
