White House names new pick for Nevada top federal prosecutor after confirmation trouble

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Trump administration has selected a new candidate for Nevada’s top federal prosecutor after challenges to its first pick’s eligibility, marking another setback in the president’s efforts to appoint U.S. attorneys who can’t win Senate approval.

Last week the White House announced its nomination of George Kelesis, a longtime criminal defense attorney in Nevada. If confirmed, he would replace Sigal Chattah, who was appointed to the position last March and whose eligibility to serve is now under review by an appeals court.

Chattah is one of several Trump nominees for U.S. attorney who was not confirmed and courts have determined cannot legally hold the job. Appointees in New Jersey and Virginia have recently left those jobs over similar eligibility questions, but another in California remains as the office’s top prosecutor with a different title.

Chattah declined to comment.

Legal fights in several states

U.S. attorneys, the top federal prosecutors around the country, typically require Senate confirmation but the law does permit the U.S. attorney general to make temporary appointments.

In several cases, Attorney General Pam Bondi has maneuvered to keep appointees who do not have enough bipartisan support to win confirmation to stay in the jobs longer than typically allowed. That has invited court challenges from defendants with cases before federal prosecutors and drawn resistance from judges who say the appointments are unlawful.

A lower-court judge ruled in September that Chattah is not validly serving in the role but allowed her to continue overseeing several cases while the appeal moved ahead. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments last week but has not issued a ruling. After losing similar cases, the decision to tap Kelesis indicates the White House does not expect a ruling in Chattah’s favor.

Another recent tussle culminated last month in the Eastern District of Virginia, when a hastily appointed Trump loyalist, Lindsey Halligan, announced her departure from the role as acting U.S. attorney. She had brought prosecutions against two Trump adversaries, former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. In November, a court dismissed those cases and ruled her appointment illegal. The Justice Department has appealed the dismissal of those prosecutions.

The Trump administration lost a similar case in New Jersey after a federal judge ruled Alina Habba, was serving as U.S. attorney longer than allowed. Habba resigned from her post in December after an appeals court upheld the earlier ruling.

Bill Essayli, the Trump-chosen pick for U.S. Attorney in the Central District of California, was also disqualified by a judge from serving as acting U.S. attorney. But he is still the highest-ranking prosecutor in the office under the title First Assistant U.S. Attorney because the administration has not chosen another candidate for the top job. The administration has not signaled it plans to replace him.

Chattah serving while Kelesis awaits approval

Chattah is validly serving as the acting U.S. attorney and can continue while Kelesis goes through the nomination process, argued federal lawyer Tyler Anne Lee in the appeals hearing last week. If Kelesis is not approved or his nomination is withdrawn, Chattah can keep serving for 210 days, Lee argued.

But Kelesis may have an easier chance at Senate confirmation, which typically requires bipartisan support. Nevada Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen, both Democrats, were staunchly opposed to Chattah’s appointment, calling her an extremist. They have not yet expressed such clear opposition to Kelesis. Cortez Masto will conduct a “tough, thorough interview with Kelesis,” her spokesperson Lauren Wodarski said.

Kelesis is registered as a nonpartisan voter and has donated to both Democrats and Republicans over the years. He has practiced law in Las Vegas since 1981, and his expertise is on white collar criminal defense and civil and criminal tax litigation. He serves as chairman of the Nevada Tax Commission and has been an adjunct professor at the University of Nevada Las Vegas’ law school.

Like Chattah, he represented one of the Nevada Republicans accused of submitting certificates to Congress falsely declaring Trump the winner of the state’s presidential vote in 2020.

But she is widely viewed as more controversial. She unsuccessfully ran for state attorney general in 2022 and was accused of using racist language about her opponent, Democrat Aaron Ford, who is Black. She has repeatedly echoed Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was stolen. She also represented churches that challenged Nevada’s COVID-19 restrictions.

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Associated Press writer Eric Tucker in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report.