🔗 Share this article

An experienced federal prosecutor in Virginia has advised her colleagues that she finds no basis there is probable cause to pursue fraudulent mortgage charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James, as reported by a source familiar with 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, will shortly present her conclusion to Lindsey Halligan, a supporter of Trump who was placed as the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia in the previous month.

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 Dispute Between Department of Justice and Trump

This case represents another major confrontation between the Justice Department and Trump, who has previously removed attorneys who resisted to target his political enemies. Halligan, who has no prosecutorial experience, was selected to the role at the urging of Trump after her preceding attorney concluded there was no legal basis to file criminal charges against James Comey, the former FBI director.

Trump has publicly demanded the U.S. Attorney General to take legal action against James, who headed a civil fraud case against the president that resulted in a $500 million fine, though the ruling was subsequently thrown out by a New York state appellate court.

Loan Fraud Accusations 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 referenced mortgage documents related 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 planned to occupy the home as her main home. James was serving as the Attorney General of New York at the time.

Prosecutors convened a grand jury in May to examine the matter but faced difficulties building a case against James, even with demands from Trump allies. Messages from the time of the home purchase and additional mortgage documents reveal James directly noting that she did not plan for the home to be her primary residence. This evidence poses a challenge for prosecutors to prove that James deliberately falsified on the mortgage documents.

Ongoing Changes in Legal Unit

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

Erik Siebert, Halligan’s predecessor, resigned on September 19 after facing pressure from Trump to file charges. Maya Song, a senior deputy to Siebert, was also dismissed in late September. Michael Ben’Ary, a prominent national security prosecutor in the office, was similarly dismissed last week after unfounded accusations from a pro-Trump media personality.

“The leadership is more concerned with punishing the President’s opponents than they are with safeguarding our national security,” he wrote in his farewell letter to colleagues.

“Justice for Americans harmed by our enemies should not be dependent on what someone in the Department of Justice sees in their social media feed that day.”