Here we go again.
A high-ranking federal prosecutor in Virginia is flat-out refusing to bring charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James — and her excuse? She claims she’s “resisting intense pressure” from President Donald Trump. Give me a break.
Elizabeth Yusi, a DOJ supervisor out of the Norfolk office, has now placed herself squarely in the middle of a political firestorm — and directly at odds with Attorney General Pam Bondi and interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan. It’s a bold move, but not in the good way. When career bureaucrats start deciding which laws to enforce based on politics, that’s not “independence” — that’s insubordination.
James is reportedly under investigation for multiple instances of mortgage fraud spanning several decades — serious allegations that would land any ordinary citizen in handcuffs. Among the claims: that she listed her father as her husband on official documents and falsified the number of units in a property to score a lower interest rate:
A top prosecutor in Virginia has informed colleagues she plans to decline to seek charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James, resisting intense pressure from President Donald Trump, according to two people familiar with her discussions.
Elizabeth Yusi, who oversees major criminal prosecutions in the Norfolk office of the Eastern District of Virginia, has confided to co-workers that she sees no probable cause to believe James engaged in mortgage fraud, the two sources told MSNBC. Yusi plans to present her conclusion to the president’s new interim U.S. attorney, Lindsey Halligan, in the coming weeks, they said.
Speaking as a layman — and I think that’s the right approach here — public perception absolutely matters. And right now, for a lot of Republicans, the perception is that the system is stacked against them. They see a two-tiered justice system where political allies of the left skate by, while conservatives get dragged through years of legal warfare.
Now, I’ll admit, I don’t have access to every piece of evidence in this case. But what is known is that there are documents showing Letitia James misrepresented information on her mortgages. She insists there was no criminal intent — and yes, intent is key in any fraud case. But when you’ve got three separate instances of “misrepresentation” spanning decades, that starts to look less like an innocent mistake and more like a pattern.
If prosecutors are waiting for a signed confession before they move forward, then we might as well shut down every fraud division in the country. At some point, the evidence has to speak for itself — and if it does here, then even the New York Attorney General shouldn’t be above the law.
In theory, it’s understandable that prosecutors want to avoid being seen as political or forced into bringing charges. But let’s be honest — where was this sudden burst of restraint during the Biden years?
When it came to Trump or anyone in his orbit, these same career prosecutors had no problem charging ahead on cases that were far weaker than what’s now alleged against Letitia James. So yes, Republicans are right to see this newfound “independence” as awfully convenient.
Everyone knows how most of these bureaucrats think: “the orange man is bad.” But that can’t be the standard for justice in this country. Whether it’s James allegedly committing mortgage fraud or James Comey lying to Congress, the law should apply evenly.
Instead, we get selective enforcement dressed up as virtue. And when a prosecutor unilaterally shuts down a case like this, bypassing even a grand jury, the message to Americans is clear — the swamp still protects its own.
If Elizabeth Yusi really does refuse to bring charges, it’s hard to imagine she’ll be in that seat much longer. Like it or not, the second Trump administration isn’t pretending about its mission — it’s dead set on ending the two-tiered justice system that’s defined Washington for years.
For too long, Democrats weaponized the DOJ against their opponents without a shred of hesitation. Now, the pendulum is swinging back. The era of selective prosecution — where conservatives get perp-walked for process crimes while Democrats skate on felonies — is coming to an end.
