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An experienced federal prosecutor in Virginia has advised her colleagues that she finds no basis there is sufficient evidence to pursue mortgage fraud charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James, per a source familiar with the situation.

The prosecutor, Elizabeth Yusi, who manages high-profile investigations in the Norfolk office for the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, plans to soon present her assessment to Lindsey Halligan, a ally of the former president who was installed as the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia recently.

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.

Major Confrontation Between Justice Department and Former President

This case signals another notable confrontation between the Justice Department and Trump, who has earlier fired attorneys who refused to prosecute his critics. Halligan, who lacks any prosecutorial experience, was selected to the role following pressure from Trump after her preceding attorney concluded there was no probable cause to file criminal charges against James Comey, the ex- FBI director.

Trump has explicitly demanded the U.S. Attorney General to prosecute James, who led a civil fraud case against the president that resulted in a massive fine, though the decision was afterwards overturned by a New York state appellate court.

Housing Fraud Allegations and Probe

William Pulte, the Federal Housing Finance Agency head and a strong Trump ally, made a allegation against James to the Justice Department in April, asserting she may have committed mortgage fraud. Pulte cited mortgage documents pertaining to a 2023 Norfolk, Virginia, home that James helped purchase for her niece, in which James appeared to indicate on a document that she intended to use the home as her primary residence. James was holding the position of the Attorney General of New York at the time.

Prosecutors assembled a grand jury in May to investigate the matter but had trouble building a case against James, even with urging from Trump allies. Emails from the time of the home purchase and other mortgage documents demonstrate James clearly indicating that she did not mean for the home to be her primary residence. This evidence poses a challenge for prosecutors to prove that James knowingly lied on the mortgage documents.

Recent Changes in Legal Unit

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

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

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

“Justice for Americans killed and injured by our enemies should not be contingent on what someone in the Department of Justice encounters in their online content that day.”