🔗 Share this article

A veteran federal prosecutor in Virginia has told her colleagues that she does not believe there is sufficient evidence to pursue mortgage fraud charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James, as reported by a source acquainted with the situation.

The prosecutor, Elizabeth Yusi, who supervises major criminal cases in the Norfolk office for the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, intends to imminently present her finding to Lindsey Halligan, a Trump ally who was appointed as the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia recently.

The Justice Department declined to comment on the matter. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia also did not return a request for comment.

High-Profile Clash Between DOJ and Trump

This case marks another high-profile confrontation between the Justice Department and Trump, who has earlier fired attorneys who declined to prosecute his critics. Halligan, who has no prosecutorial experience, was appointed to the role after requests by Trump after her former office holder concluded there was insufficient evidence to file criminal charges against James Comey, the former FBI director.

Trump has publicly called for the U.S. Attorney General to take legal action against James, who spearheaded a civil fraud case against the former president that resulted in a $500 million fine, though the judgment was later reversed by a New York state appellate court.

Housing Fraud Allegations and Inquiry

William Pulte, the Federal Housing Finance Agency head and a dedicated Trump ally, made a legal complaint against James to the Justice Department in April, claiming she may have committed mortgage fraud. Pulte cited mortgage documents related to a 2023 Norfolk, Virginia, home that James supported the acquisition of for her niece, in which James appeared to indicate on a document that she intended to use the home as her principal dwelling. James was holding the position of the Attorney General of New York at the time.

Prosecutors assembled a grand jury in May to look into the matter but faced difficulties building a case against James, even with urging from Trump allies. Electronic correspondence from the time of the home purchase and further mortgage documents show James directly noting that she did not mean for the home to be her primary residence. This evidence makes it difficult for prosecutors to prove that James intentionally misled on the mortgage documents.

Recent Shake-Up in Prosecutorial Division

Multiple prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia have either been fired or left their posts in recent weeks as Trump has escalated pressure on the office to bring charges against Comey and James.

Erik Siebert, Halligan’s predecessor, left his position on September 19 after experiencing pressure from Trump to file charges. Maya Song, a senior deputy to Siebert, was also terminated in late September. Michael Ben’Ary, a leading national security prosecutor in the office, was removed last week after inaccurate accusations from a pro-Trump media personality.

“The leadership is focused with punishing the President’s opponents than they are with protecting our national security,” he stated in his farewell letter to colleagues.

“Justice for Americans affected by our enemies should not be contingent on what someone in the Department of Justice encounters in their digital platforms that day.”