Prosecutor who resisted bringing charges against NY AG was fired after allegations she sent case info to her personal email

By Hannah Rabinowitz, CNN

(CNN) — The Virginia federal prosecutor who resisted bringing mortgage fraud charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James sent investigative files with James’ personally identifying information to her own private email account, according an email reviewed by CNN.

The prosecutor, Beth Yusi, was dismissed earlier this month at least in part because of the mishandling of the personal information, people familiar with her termination said.

Yusi’s attorney Margaret Donovan told CNN that the former prosecutor “has no record of any such email” and “has never used her personal email account for any portion of any investigation.”

“Ms. Yusi is a well-respected prosecutor, a leader among her peers, and a consummate professional with nearly two decades of experience,” Donovan said.

Sharing evidence from an ongoing investigation is typically not a violation of the law if it does not include classified information, but it does violate DOJ policy.

The Justice Department declined to comment for this story.

Before her ousting, Yusi authored an internal memo that explained why prosecutors believed there was not enough evidence to bring charges against James. Her firing drew immediate criticism from those who have accused the Justice Department of following directives from the White House to target Trump’s political opponents.

Sources previously told CNN that her work on the memo also contributed to her firing.

Her firing comes after the federal prosecutor’s office in Virginia was pushed into chaos in September as career prosecutors resisted bringing criminal charges against James. Yusi’s departure, along with several others, is indicative of a deepening split between the political appointees who lead the powerful office and its roster of experienced prosecutors.

CNN previously reported that US Attorney Lindsey Halligan, who runs the Virginia office, believed attorneys were leaking “unauthorized” information to the press.

Halligan personally presented James’ case to the grand jury that returned the indictment.

A DOJ official previously said in a statement to CNN that Halligan was never shown the memo explaining why prosecutors didn’t want to pursue charges against James. Several people familiar with the matter told CNN the memo was carefully reviewed by people involved in bringing the indictment before it was presented to a grand jury.

This story was updated to include new information.

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