It is unusual for a top politically appointed US Attorney to present a case herself and could suggest that the office struggled to find a career lawyer willing to take on the assignment.
A senior career lawyer in the office had indicated to her staff in recent days that she believed the case was weak and did not want to present it to a grand jury, according to two people familiar with the internal conversations who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation.
That lawyer had also worked to insulate her subordinates from the case so that they, too, would not have to present the case, those people said.
Federal officials have been investigating whether James lied on loan documents for a house she purchased in Norfolk in 2023.
In that paperwork, she said the home would be her primary residence even as she served as attorney-general in New York.
James’ lawyer has described those errors as honest mistakes and said James has presented evidence showing that she purchased the home for a niece and had not intended to improperly secure a better mortgage rate by declaring it her primary residence.
Prosecutors had called James’ niece to appear before a grand jury as part of the investigation, according to people familiar with the conversations.
Those people said the niece gave testimony that would bolster James’ case that she did not commit fraud.
