BUZZ
Two attorneys representing defendants accused of sexual assault at Cornell University are seeking the removal of New York Attorney General Letitia James from her role as the special prosecutor investigating the claims.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul appointed James in early October despite the attorney’s public statement supporting Jane Doe in her lawsuit claiming she was drugged and raped at a frat house in 2024.
Hochul made the move amid public backlash after it came to light in September that the local Tompkins County district attorney declined to present the case to a grand jury.
But James’ appointment “unequivocally demonstrated a bias and presumption of guilt against the defendants named in the Civil Case,” argues one of the defendants in court documents.
“Specifically, three days prior to her appointment as Special Prosecutor … James posted to the Attorney General’s official social media platform X’s account: ‘What this young woman has been forced to endure is horrific and unacceptable. I’m holding her in my heart and in my prayers. To her, and to all survivors: you’re not alone. We stand with you.'”
At a hearing on Thursday, Judge James Farrell questioned the defendant’s attorney, Andrew Miltenberg, asking why all the accused men have not come together to seek James’ removal, according to CNN.
“We got here because people were not satisfied with the investigation done by Cornell and the results of that,” Miltenberg, who represents defendant Gillio Lopes, reportedly told the judge.
“We’re here because people were not satisfied with the Tompkins County district attorney’s approach to this. Why do we need to put the people of this state in the position of again lacking confidence in the result?”
James was not present at the hearing. Assistant Attorney General Kaitlin Vigars told the judge that James’ public sentiment is not a conflict of interest nor an “impediment” to the investigation, that a prosecutor “has a duty of fair dealing to the accused,” CNN reported.
A second defendant is also asking a separate judge to have James removed from the probe.
Defendant Winston Lee, whose attorneys previously represented Sean “Diddy” Combs, also seeks to remove James from the criminal investigation due to alleged bias, the Cornell Daily Sun reported. That petition is pending in Tompkins County.
The seven men accused in the lawsuit have denied any criminal wrongdoing.
In text messages sent shortly after the incident, Doe initially described the encounter as a “gangbang,” wrote that “none of the sexual stuff was illegal,” and expressed that she had made her own choices, texting: “our body, our choice.”
But a few weeks later, she also told campus officials she was incapacitated and coerced and believes she was raped, according to transcripts of the campus investigation reviewed by CBS News.
As the men’s attorneys battle the issue out in court, Cornell remains engulfed in controversy.
Cornell’s Faculty Senate is expected to hold a “no confidence” vote in the administration over its handling of the initial investigation last year. Its University Assembly is eyeing a similar vote, the Sun reported.
MORE: Cornell lawsuit sparks debate on consent for both accuser and accused
