FBI closes 2020 election fraud inquiry ordered by Nevada's top federal prosecutor, sources say [View all]

Source: CBS News

The FBI has closed a politically charged voter fraud inquiry sought by Nevada's top federal prosecutor, after finding only 38 non-citizens may have voted in the 2020 presidential election, sources with direct knowledge of the probe told CBS News.

The FBI ended the inquiry in late January, after Sigal Chattah, the first assistant U.S. attorney in Nevada, had ordered the bureau in July to open a 2020 election fraud probe that she claimed could help flip a key congressional seat in Republicans' favor. She also said it could ensnare President Trump's Democratic opponents — state attorneys general who had gone after fake electors — sources previously told CBS News.

At that time, she provided the FBI with a thumb drive of data compiled by the Republican Party that she claimed would show that non-citizens had voted in the 2020 election and that people on Indian reservations were accepting cash for ballots, the sources previously said.

But an FBI review of Nevada voter roll data, compared against Department of Homeland Security citizenship data, only identified 38 possible non-citizen voters. In addition, FBI agents told Chattah's office that the statute of limitations to pursue any possible case had also expired, which made bringing a case untenable, according to sources familiar with the case.

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By Sarah N. Lynch
March 12, 2026 / 4:49 PM EDT / CBS News


Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fbi-closes-2020-election-fraud-inquiry-nevada/