Cornell Faculty Senate to hold no-confidence vote on university leadership
A defense lawyer for one of seven men accused in an alleged October 2024 gang rape at Cornell University called for New York Attorney General Letitia James to recuse herself as special prosecutor, arguing that public comments James posted about the accuser raised questions about the investigation’s “integrity and independence.” The lawyer said the remarks were disqualifying. The lawyer’s client is among the defendants named in a lawsuit alleging the woman identified as Jane Doe was drugged and raped for several hours at a fraternity party.
The lawyer delivered the recusal request in a statement to CBS News, the BBC’s U.S. media partner. The comments at the center of the request came on September 28, days before Hochul appointed James. On X, James wrote: “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.”
In her statement, the lawyer said those remarks “conflict with the need for independently evaluating the evidence.” The statement continued: “This is not an accusation that Attorney General James is corrupt, acting in bad faith or incapable of performing her duties professionally. Nor am I suggesting that a court has determined that she is legally disqualified. The point is much narrower: an avoidable question now hangs over this investigation, and voluntary recusal would remove it.”
Governor Hochul appointed James as special prosecutor last week to investigate the case and the initial response by law enforcement and the university to the allegations. At a news conference, Hochul and James were questioned about impartiality concerns. Hochul said James would “follow the facts.” “She’ll examine the evidence and go wherever it leads, and if the evidence supports charges, she will pursue them,” Hochul said.
According to U.S. media reports, Cornell’s Faculty Senate is scheduled to vote next week on a resolution of no confidence in the university administration. The Faculty Senate, a governing body comprised of professors and other academic staff, governs the Ivy League institution, whose faculty includes Nobel laureates and other distinguished researchers. A majority no-confidence vote would be largely symbolic, signalling the broader faculty’s discontent and applying pressure on university leadership to act.
The BBC said it has reached out to Cornell University for comment. Cornell’s president has previously said the university “must do better” in response to the allegations. The lawsuit, which names seven men and the university as defendants, alleges that the woman identified as Jane Doe was drugged and raped for several hours at a fraternity party in October 2024. The allegations have rocked the Cornell campus in New York state, with hundreds of students and faculty members gathering on Monday in protest and sparking anger across the country. The case has drawn national attention, with the recusal request arriving amid ongoing investigations into how the university and local law enforcement initially responded to the allegations.