A senior federal prosecutor in Virginia has advised her colleagues that she lacks confidence there is sufficient evidence to pursue mortgage fraud charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James, per a source knowledgeable about the situation.
The prosecutor, Elizabeth Yusi, who manages significant prosecutions in the Norfolk office for the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, plans to shortly present her conclusion to Lindsey Halligan, a supporter of Trump who was installed as the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia recently.
The Justice Department offered no statement on the matter. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia also did not return a request for comment.
Significant Clash Between Department of Justice and Former President
This case signals another high-profile confrontation between the Justice Department and Trump, who has earlier removed attorneys who declined to target his opponents. Halligan, who has no prosecutorial experience, was selected to the role at the urging of Trump after her former office holder concluded there was no legal basis to file criminal charges against James Comey, the previous FBI director.
Trump has publicly demanded the U.S. Attorney General to prosecute James, who headed a civil fraud case against the former president that resulted in a $500 million fine, though the decision was later reversed by a New York state appellate court.
Loan Fraud Claims and Probe
William Pulte, the Federal Housing Finance Agency head and a dedicated Trump ally, made a criminal referral against James to the Justice Department in April, asserting she may have committed mortgage fraud. Pulte referenced mortgage documents related to a 2023 Norfolk, Virginia, home that James helped purchase 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 serving as the Attorney General of New York at the time.
Prosecutors formed a grand jury in May to examine the matter but had trouble building a case against James, even with pressure from Trump allies. Messages from the time of the home purchase and further mortgage documents show 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 intentionally misled on the mortgage documents.
Recent Changes in Prosecutorial Division
Multiple prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia have faced termination or resigned in recent weeks as Trump has escalated pressure on the office to bring charges against Comey and James.
Erik Siebert, Halligan’s predecessor, resigned on September 19 after encountering pressure from Trump to file charges. Maya Song, a senior deputy to Siebert, was also terminated in late September. Michael Ben’Ary, a prominent national security prosecutor in the office, was similarly dismissed last week after inaccurate accusations from a pro-Trump media personality.
“The leadership is preoccupied with targeting the President’s political foes than they are with safeguarding our national security,” he stated in his departure note to colleagues.
“Justice for Americans killed and injured by our enemies should not be subject to what someone in the Department of Justice reads in their online content that day.”
