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A senior federal prosecutor in Virginia has told her colleagues that she finds no basis there is legal grounds to pursue criminal 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 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 in the previous month.

The Justice Department offered no statement on the matter. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia also ignored a request for comment.

Significant Confrontation Between Justice Department and Former President

This case marks another high-profile confrontation between the Justice Department and Trump, who has in the past fired attorneys who refused to target his opponents. Halligan, who lacks any prosecutorial experience, was selected to the role following pressure from Trump after her former office holder concluded there was no probable cause to file criminal charges against James Comey, the former FBI director.

Trump has openly called for the U.S. Attorney General to prosecute James, who spearheaded a civil fraud case against the former president that resulted in a $500 million fine, though the judgment was subsequently thrown out by a New York state appellate court.

Mortgage Fraud Allegations and Probe

William Pulte, the Federal Housing Finance Agency head and a strong Trump ally, made a legal complaint against James to the Justice Department in April, asserting she may have committed mortgage fraud. Pulte pointed to mortgage documents pertaining 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 principal dwelling. James was holding the position of 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. Emails from the time of the home purchase and other mortgage documents show James explicitly stating that she did not intend for the home to be her primary residence. This evidence makes it difficult for prosecutors to prove that James deliberately falsified on the mortgage documents.

Ongoing Turnover in Legal Division

Multiple prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia have either been fired 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, stepped down on September 19 after facing 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 removed last week after inaccurate accusations from a pro-Trump media personality.

“The leadership is preoccupied with punishing the President’s perceived enemies than they are with safeguarding our national security,” he expressed 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 online content that day.”