U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche took time in mid-September to fly to Las Vegas, tour a cutting-edge police drone program and take in an NFL game with play-acting Nevada U.S. Attorney Sigal Chattah, a source with knowledge of the visit confirmed Monday.

What Blanche's busy schedule didn't permit was so much as a cup of coffee with George Kelesis, Chattah's legally nominated replacement as Nevada's top federal prosecutor.

Chattah's association with the office has been fraught with controversy since President Donald Trump in March 2025 appointed her to an interim position in an attempt to bypass the Senate's 120-day confirmation rule. The former Republican National Committeewoman and Nevada attorney general candidate has been heavily criticized for her extreme partisanship, and Nevada Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen, both Democrats, have made no secret of their intention to block her nomination.

And yet, there she has remained as an "interim, "acting" and "special attorney to the U.S. attorney general." Now, the Trump loyalist serves in play-acting capacity even after the White House appeared to shift gears with a February nomination of Kelesis. In August, a three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Chattah's disqualification. The smackdown reflected other appeals court decisions with Trump U.S. attorney nominees nationwide in an interruption of the president's efforts to weaponize the office under his former personal attorney Blanche's adoring eyes.

Chattah can't use "first assistant," "special attorney" or her Mar-a-Lago pool pass to skip Senate confirmation for the vacant U.S. attorney post. But the 9th Circuit's ruling comes with a little legal wiggle room: Her disqualification is stayed pending an appeal to the U.S Supreme Court.

In other words, she's in, she's out — but she's still in.

Chattah courted partisan controversy in the office from the start after she ordered the FBI to investigate repeatedly debunked allegations of voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election in Nevada. The FBI closed its inquiry into a favorite Trump conspiracy in January 2026.

Although not allowed to prosecute cases, being on the shelf allows Chattah time to play the gracious tour guide for her friend Blanche. After stopping at the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department's flashy Project Blue Sky operation, with its multiple first-responder capabilities, according to sources, on Sunday, Sept. 13, Chattah and Blanche attended the Las Vegas Raiders-Miami Dolphins game at Allegiant Stadium.

Chattah's no-in-basket status also gives her time to post party photos on her Facebook page, one of which this past week caused a national news stir. It was a picture of her in the middle of a group toast at the June wedding reception at Manhattan's Waldorf Astoria of ousted former Acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba. In addition to Chattah, the blushing bride and her Turkish billionaire groom Turhan Mildon, the snapshot included FBI Director Kash Patel and mixed martial arts fight manager Ali Abdelaziz. A former FBI informant, Abdelaziz represents several Russian and Chechen fighters and, more importantly, holds the distinction of being a suspected double agent.

The FBI director in a photo with a tainted FBI informant? As The Insider's Michael Weiss jabbed on X, "Looks like Ka$h … has forgiven and forgotten." 

Although Blanche wasn't in that picture, he attended the wedding, according to published reports.

Attempts Tuesday to reach Chattah, Blanche and Kelesis for comment were unsuccessful.

But speaking of Kelesis, he must be feeling a little like Rodney Dangerfield as he stands offstage waiting for someone to give Chattah the hook. She's illegal, but hey, he's the one who gets no respect, no respect at all.

What does Kelesis have that she hasn't got? Well, the Las Vegas native is a respected member of the legal community who has practiced law since 1981 in Nevada. He has served on the Nevada Tax Commission for more than two decades and is currently its chairman after an appointment by Gov. Joe Lombardo (R). With a history of giving to Democrats and Republicans, Kelesis is also no saucer-eyed political firebrand.

But that doesn't put him in the U.S. attorney's chair … or in the football stadium next to the attorney general, for that matter.

Who knows, George, maybe they only had two tickets.

John L. Smith is an author and longtime columnist. He was born in Henderson and his family's Nevada roots go back to 1881. His stories have appeared in New Lines, Time, Reader's Digest, Rolling Stone, The Daily Beast, Reuters and Desert Companion, among others.