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An experienced federal prosecutor in Virginia has told her colleagues that she does not believe there is sufficient evidence to pursue fraudulent mortgage charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James, according to a source familiar 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, will shortly present her finding 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 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 Dispute Between Department of Justice and Former President

This case signals another notable confrontation between the Justice Department and Trump, who has earlier dismissed attorneys who resisted to prosecute his critics. Halligan, who lacks any prosecutorial experience, was selected to the role at the urging of Trump after her predecessor concluded there was insufficient evidence 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 ex-president that resulted in a half-billion dollar fine, though the decision was later thrown out by a New York state appellate court.

Housing Fraud Claims and Investigation

William Pulte, the Federal Housing Finance Agency head and a dedicated Trump ally, made a allegation against James to the Justice Department in April, alleging she may have committed mortgage fraud. Pulte pointed to mortgage documents associated with a 2023 Norfolk, Virginia, home that James helped purchase for her niece, in which James appeared to indicate 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 assembled a grand jury in May to examine the matter but struggled building a case against James, despite pressure from Trump allies. Messages from the time of the home purchase and other mortgage documents demonstrate James clearly indicating that she did not mean for the home to be her primary residence. This evidence complicates efforts for prosecutors to prove that James deliberately falsified on the mortgage documents.

Recent Shake-Up in Legal Unit

Multiple prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia have faced termination 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, left his position 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 top national security prosecutor in the office, was also fired last week after unfounded 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 wrote 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 social media feed that day.”