🔗 Share this article

An experienced federal prosecutor in Virginia has advised her colleagues that she lacks confidence there is probable cause to pursue mortgage fraud charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James, per a source knowledgeable about the situation.

The prosecutor, Elizabeth Yusi, who supervises high-profile investigations in the Norfolk office for the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, intends to imminently present her assessment to Lindsey Halligan, a ally of the former president who was appointed as the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia in the previous month.

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

Significant Clash Between Department of Justice and Former President

This case signals another notable confrontation between the Justice Department and Trump, who has previously removed attorneys who declined to take action against his critics. Halligan, who possesses no prosecutorial experience, was named to the role after requests by Trump after her former office holder concluded there was no probable cause to file criminal charges against James Comey, the previous FBI director.

Trump has openly urged the U.S. Attorney General to charge James, who spearheaded a civil fraud case against the former president that resulted in a massive fine, though the judgment was later thrown out by a New York state appellate court.

Mortgage 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, alleging she may have committed mortgage fraud. Pulte referenced mortgage documents pertaining to a 2023 Norfolk, Virginia, home that James supported the acquisition of for her niece, in which James seemed to state on a document that she intended to use the home as her main home. James was acting as the Attorney General of New York at the time.

Prosecutors convened a grand jury in May to look into the matter but struggled building a case against James, despite urging from Trump allies. Messages from the time of the home purchase and additional mortgage documents demonstrate James explicitly stating that she did not plan for the home to be her primary residence. This evidence makes it difficult for prosecutors to prove that James knowingly lied on the mortgage documents.

Recent Shake-Up in Legal Unit

Multiple prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia have either been fired or stepped down in recent weeks as Trump has ramped up pressure on the office to bring charges against Comey and James.

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

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

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