Letitia James has spent years using her office to go after Donald Trump with everything she’s got.
Now she’s facing her own legal troubles over mortgage fraud allegations.
But a Virginia prosecutor may let Letitia James off the hook despite evidence that has Trump fuming.
Norfolk prosecutor doesn’t see probable cause for prosecution
The Federal Housing Finance Agency released damning evidence earlier this year showing that New York Attorney General Letitia James allegedly made false statements on mortgage documents.
James was accused of falsely claiming a Virginia property as her "principal" residence on mortgage paperwork.
That’s textbook mortgage fraud – the kind of thing that can land regular Americans in federal prison.
But Norfolk prosecutor Elizabeth Yusi told her co-workers that she doesn’t believe there’s probable cause to prosecute James, according to two sources who spoke to MSNBC.
Yusi plans to present her recommendation to interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan in the coming weeks.
Sources tell MSNBC that prosecutors are already bracing for the possibility that Yusi could get fired by Halligan for refusing to bring charges.
The timing here couldn’t be more suspicious.
James has made a career out of weaponizing her office against Trump and his business empire.
She’s launched investigation after investigation, lawsuit after lawsuit – all while positioning herself as some kind of crusading defender of justice.
Now when the tables are turned and there’s evidence of potential wrongdoing on her part, suddenly prosecutors can’t find probable cause?
Trump demands James resign over "wacky crook" behavior
President Trump didn’t mince words when the mortgage fraud allegations first surfaced in April.
He demanded that James resign from her office immediately and called her a "wacky crook" on social media.
Trump ramped up his criticism again over the weekend, posting that "Corrupt Letitia James is costing New York State Hundreds of Billions of Dollars in lost business."
"No company or individual wants to be there, knowing that she’s the ‘Attorney General.’ She is a Complete and Total Disaster," Trump wrote.
The President continued his assault on James, writing that companies won’t move to New York and few will use the New York Stock Exchange or NASDAQ "until this ‘SCUM’ is removed from the Attorney General’s Office."
Those aren’t the words of someone making idle political attacks.
Trump’s team clearly believes they have James dead to rights on mortgage fraud charges that would end her career and possibly land her in prison.
The evidence came from a federal agency, not some partisan political operation.
The investigation shows interesting contradictions
Here’s where the story gets really interesting.
Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte made the criminal referral to the Justice Department alleging James falsified documents to get favorable loan terms.
The allegations center around a Norfolk, Virginia home that James purchased in 2023 with her niece.
James’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, provided evidence showing James explicitly stated the home was not her primary residence on the actual loan application.
According to Lowell, a power-of-attorney form mistakenly listed the house as a primary residence, but James herself checked "no" on the loan application when asked if the house was her primary home.
Lowell insists as well that James also sent an email to her mortgage broker stating the house "WILL NOT be my primary residence."
Career prosecutors who examined the evidence apparently concluded they cannot prove James lied or intended to lie on the mortgage application.
The bigger picture shows a troubling pattern
Look, here’s what’s really happening with this whole situation.
James spent years turning the New York Attorney General’s office into her personal weapon against Trump.
She used novel legal theories that had never been tested before to go after Trump and his businesses.
She secured a massive civil fraud judgment against the Trump Organization – though the monetary penalty was later thrown out on appeal.
Now there are questions about her own mortgage documents, and suddenly career prosecutors are finding reasons not to prosecute.
The double standard couldn’t be more obvious to anyone paying attention.
If this were a Trump family member facing the same allegations, James would already have them in handcuffs and would be holding press conferences about it.
But when she’s the one facing potential federal charges, prosecutors are telling their colleagues there’s no probable cause.
This is exactly why Americans have lost faith in the justice system.
They see one set of rules for connected Democrats and another set for everyone else.
The same prosecutors who were happy to pursue cases against Trump based on paperwork disputes now can’t find sufficient evidence when there are actual questions about mortgage fraud.
For folks who still believe in equal justice under law, this case is a perfect example of why the entire system needs major reform.
Whether James actually committed mortgage fraud or not, the fact that she’s getting different treatment than her political opponents would have received shows just how broken things have become.
¹ Carlos Garcia, "Virginia prosecutor planning to let Letitia James off the hook on mortgage fraud allegations: MSNBC," Blaze News, October 6, 2025.
