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A veteran federal prosecutor in Virginia has advised her colleagues that she lacks confidence there is legal grounds 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 oversees significant prosecutions in the Norfolk office for the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, plans to soon present her finding to Lindsey Halligan, a Trump ally who was installed as the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia recently.

The Justice Department declined to comment on the matter. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia also ignored a request for comment.

Major Clash Between Department of Justice and Trump

This case represents another high-profile confrontation between the Justice Department and Trump, who has earlier removed attorneys who resisted to prosecute his political enemies. Halligan, who has no 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 previous FBI director.

Trump has publicly called for the U.S. Attorney General to charge James, who headed a civil fraud case against the former president that resulted in a half-billion dollar fine, though the decision was later overturned by a New York state appellate court.

Mortgage Fraud Accusations and Inquiry

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 referenced mortgage documents associated with 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 primary residence. James was serving 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, despite urging from Trump allies. Messages from the time of the home purchase and further mortgage documents show James clearly indicating that she did not plan 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 Turnover in Prosecutorial 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, left his position on September 19 after facing pressure from Trump to file charges. Maya Song, a top deputy to Siebert, was also terminated 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 more concerned with punishing the President’s perceived enemies than they are with defending our national security,” he wrote in his departure note to colleagues.

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