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An experienced federal prosecutor in Virginia has informed her colleagues that she lacks confidence there is probable cause to pursue fraudulent mortgage charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James, as reported by a source acquainted with the situation.

The prosecutor, Elizabeth Yusi, who oversees 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 Trump ally who was placed 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.

Significant Dispute Between Department of Justice and Former President

This case represents another notable confrontation between the Justice Department and Trump, who has in the past removed attorneys who refused to target his critics. Halligan, who possesses no prosecutorial experience, was named 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 former FBI director.

Trump has explicitly demanded the U.S. Attorney General to take legal action against James, who headed a civil fraud case against the former 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 strong Trump ally, made a allegation against James to the Justice Department in April, claiming she may have committed mortgage fraud. Pulte cited mortgage documents related to a 2023 Norfolk, Virginia, home that James supported the acquisition of for her niece, in which James suggested on a document that she planned to occupy the home as her primary residence. James was holding the position of the Attorney General of New York at the time.

Prosecutors formed a grand jury in May to look into the matter but struggled building a case against James, despite urging from Trump allies. Messages from the time of the home purchase and further mortgage documents show 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 intentionally misled on the mortgage documents.

Recent Shake-Up in Justice Division

Multiple prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia have either been fired or stepped down 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 facing pressure from Trump to file charges. Maya Song, a senior deputy to Siebert, was also fired in late September. Michael Ben’Ary, a prominent national security prosecutor in the office, was removed last week after false accusations from a pro-Trump media personality.

“The leadership is focused with targeting the President’s opponents than they are with protecting our national security,” he stated in his farewell letter to colleagues.

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