Judge to consider removing New York AG from Cornell rape investigation

Summarised from Independent World's report · Updated 29 Oct, 16:35 · Archive

A judge will consider whether New York's attorney general should be removed from investigating gang rape allegations at Cornell University.

A state judge is set to consider whether social media posts by New York's Attorney General Letitia James should disqualify her from leading a criminal investigation into gang rape allegations at Cornell University. A former Cornell student filed a lawsuit alleging that she was raped by several men at a fraternity party in October 2024, claiming that some men pressured her into using ketamine and marijuana and that she drank alcohol that left her too intoxicated to consent.

Within days of James being appointed special prosecutor to oversee a renewed criminal probe, lawyers for two of the men named as defendants filed challenges to her appointment. They argue that James is biased because she expressed support for the accuser in social media posts before being appointed to the case. On 28 September, James posted on X and Facebook: '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.'

Governor Kathy Hochul signed an executive order on 1 October removing the case from Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten, who declined to bring charges in 2024, and appointed James as special prosecutor. A judge is set to hear one of the challenges on Thursday, with another filed in Tompkins County.

Read the report

• Judge weighs removing Letitia James from Cornell 7 investigation over her social media postsLawyers for two of the men named as defendants in Jane Doe‘s lawsuit have filed challenges to James' appointmentIndependent World · 29 Oct, 15:05

In this story: Letitia James · Cornell University · New York · Kathy Hochul · Tompkins County

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