US Prosecutor Resists Pressure to Charge NY Attorney General James

An experienced federal prosecutor in Virginia has informed her colleagues that she finds no basis there is probable cause to pursue criminal mortgage fraud charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James, according to 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, intends to imminently present her assessment to Lindsey Halligan, a ally of the former president who was appointed as the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia last month.

The Justice Department did not respond 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 Confrontation Between Justice Department and Former President

This case marks another major confrontation between the Justice Department and Trump, who has earlier removed attorneys who declined to target his political enemies. Halligan, who has no prosecutorial experience, was named to the role at the urging of Trump after her predecessor concluded there was insufficient evidence to file criminal charges against James Comey, the ex- FBI director.

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

Loan Fraud Allegations and Investigation

William Pulte, the Federal Housing Finance Agency head and a strong 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 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 planned to occupy the home as her primary residence. 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, despite demands from Trump allies. Electronic correspondence from the time of the home purchase and further mortgage documents reveal James explicitly stating that she did not mean for the home to be her primary residence. This evidence makes it difficult for prosecutors to prove that James knowingly lied on the mortgage documents.

Recent Changes in Justice Unit

Multiple prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia have been dismissed or resigned in recent weeks as Trump has ramped up 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 key deputy to Siebert, was also dismissed in late September. Michael Ben’Ary, a leading national security prosecutor in the office, was similarly dismissed last week after false accusations from a pro-Trump media personality.

“The leadership is focused with targeting the President’s perceived enemies than they are with defending our national security,” he expressed in his final message to colleagues.

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