A former Las Vegas city council member, nicknamed “Lady Trump,” will continue to be suspended from her position as a justice of the peace in Pahrump, Nevada, even though the president granted her a “full and unconditional pardon” for several felony charges last month. However, Michele Fiore, who unsuccessfully ran for governor as a GOP candidate, can still receive her salary funded by taxpayers while awaiting a final decision on her employment status.

Before receiving the pardon from President Donald Trump, Fiore was threatened with decades of imprisonment after being convicted of defrauding over $70,000. She was accused of misappropriating donations intended for a charity dedicated to a fallen police officer, instead using the funds for personal reasons like “rent, cosmetic procedures, and her daughter’s wedding.”

Fiore had been an active justice of the peace when she was federally indicted on six counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. She was subsequently found guilty on all seven charges following an eight-day trial in October 2024.

The decision to keep Fiore’s suspension in place on an interim basis was handed down Monday by the Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline after the seven-member panel said it received several other complaints about the convicted felon. The ruling was unanimous “to protect the integrity of the judiciary pending resolution of the case.”

“Here, the evidence of Respondent’s dishonesty and retention of funds maintained under false pretenses ‘reveals a current, emergent threat to the judiciary’ and requires the Commission to impose interim suspension ‘to protect against anticipated future harm, including harm to the public’s perception of the judicial system,”” the order states. “Specifically, Respondent’s continuing deceit of the charitable donors and her unjust enrichment at the expense of the slain police officer statue harms the public’s perception of the judicial system and its confidence in the system’s legitimacy, creates the appearance of impropriety, reflects adversely on Respondent’s honesty and character, and undermines her ability to impose justice and to apply the law fairly.”

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The judges said their point was further illustrated through emails received from members of the general public “calling into question Respondent’s honesty and her ability to perform the duties of a justice of the peace.”

Jurors found that when Fiore was still a member of the city council, she solicited donations to build a statue honoring Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Officer Alyn Beck, who was killed while on the job on June 18, 2014. Her solicitations allegedly included a promise that “100% of the contributions” would be put toward the creation of the statue.

While the statue does, in fact, stand in a flower bed near the entrance of Officer Alyn Beck Memorial Park in Las Vegas, it was raised without the former GOP gubernatorial candidate’s financial help. Instead, prosecutors said she converted all of the money — more than $70,000 — to cash and money orders that were used “for her own personal benefit.”

Despite Fiore claiming that the conduct in question took place before she became a judge, the panel said there was ample evidence showing that after taking on that role, she “continued to defraud donors by keeping donations to which she was not entitled and continued to fail to notify them she used their funds for personal expenses instead of for the statue.

“Respondent has provided no evidence or testimony that she notified the donors after becoming a judicial officer or that she repaid them or intends to repay them,” the order states.

The panel did not go into detail as to what the additional complaints against Fiore entailed, stating a decision on her professional fate would be reached at a future date.

In a Facebook post, Fiore remained defiant of the commission’s order and said she would be filing an appeal.

“Their decision to continue my suspension is not based on new findings or misconduct in office. It is based on unverified public perception and allegations that predate my time as a judge,” she wrote. “This order reflects a lack of impartiality and a violation of my constitutional rights. Even more disturbing, they suspended me in part based on complaints that were never subject to the hearing, and never disclosed in any official notice. This is a fundamental failure of due process.”

As previously reported by Law&Crime, Fiore’s pardon came less than a week after U.S. District Court Judge Jennifer Dorsey rejected her attempt to have her conviction overturned. Additionally, the clemency was issued less than a month after Trump appointed Sigal Chattah, reportedly one of Fiore’s close friends, as the interim U.S. Attorney for Nevada, according to The Nevada Independent.