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A veteran federal prosecutor in Virginia has informed her colleagues that she finds no basis there is sufficient evidence to pursue fraudulent mortgage charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James, per a source acquainted with the situation.

The prosecutor, Elizabeth Yusi, who supervises significant prosecutions in the Norfolk office for the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, intends to shortly present her assessment to Lindsey Halligan, a Trump ally who was appointed 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.

Major Clash Between DOJ and Former President

This case represents another notable confrontation between the Justice Department and Trump, who has previously dismissed attorneys who refused to target his opponents. Halligan, who lacks any prosecutorial experience, was selected 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 ex- FBI director.

Trump has publicly called for the U.S. Attorney General to charge James, who headed a civil fraud case against the president that resulted in a $500 million fine, though the ruling was afterwards overturned by a New York state appellate court.

Housing Fraud Claims and Probe

William Pulte, the Federal Housing Finance Agency head and a staunch Trump ally, made a allegation against James to the Justice Department in April, claiming she may have committed mortgage fraud. Pulte pointed to mortgage documents pertaining to a 2023 Norfolk, Virginia, home that James assisted in buying for her niece, in which James seemed to state on a document that she intended to use the home as her primary residence. 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 faced difficulties building a case against James, even with demands from Trump allies. Electronic correspondence from the time of the home purchase and other mortgage documents show James clearly indicating that she did not plan 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.

Recent Shake-Up in Legal Division

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

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

“The leadership is preoccupied with targeting the President’s perceived enemies than they are with defending our national security,” he stated in his departure note to colleagues.

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