James's office seeks outside counsel for Cornell sex-crime probe

Lopes, Lee cite solidarity post in bids to oust James

New York Attorney General Letitia James’s office has spoken to several law firms about serving as outside counsel to conduct the criminal investigation into an alleged 2024 sexual assault at Cornell University, a step that could give James some distance from the probe while allowing her to stay connected to the case. People familiar with the matter said the office sought recommendations for private lawyers before the two men sought her removal.

The removal requests came from two potential defendants, fraternity members Gillio Lopes and Winston Lee, who cited a social-media post in which James expressed solidarity with the accuser. “What this young woman has been forced to endure is horrific and unacceptable,” James said in the post, days before her appointment. “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.”

Lawyers for Lopes argued that her comments showed the attorney general had already reached an opinion about the case. “Her own words indisputably establish that Attorney General James is not and cannot remain neutral in investigating this matter and determining whether to prosecute,” they wrote. A judge will weigh the accusations of bias Thursday in Monticello, N.Y., on the claims of Lopes, which are being heard this week. Lawyers for Lee have argued that James’s comment has prejudiced any future grand jury proceedings.

Hochul and James have defended the appointment, saying they have followed the framework outlined in state law. In a legal filing last week, James’s office called the effort to disqualify her speculative, since there was no indication the fraternity member in question would even be charged. Hochul has said she is confident James will “do what she has always done: look at the facts, examine the record and draw the proper conclusions.”

Hochul, a Democrat, appointed James as special prosecutor after Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten reviewed the Cornell incident but did not bring charges. Van Houten has said the accuser, a former Cornell student, initially described her drug use and sexual conduct on the night in question as “voluntary, conscious and consensual” to campus police. He has said he was unaware that in a transcript of her intake conversation with police, she said she was raped.

The decision not to pursue charges created a firestorm after the accuser filed a civil lawsuit last month accusing the school of failing to protect her from an alleged gang rape by fraternity members. Replacing a local district attorney because of public pressure is fairly rare, legal experts said.

For any prosecutor, the probe, which involves drug and alcohol-fueled behavior and questions of consent, would be a tall order, and legal observers said James’s office has little experience prosecuting sex crimes. “I can’t make sense of it from the perspective of expertise or impartiality,” said Rebecca Roiphe, a New York Law School professor. “The only possible explanation is that this is just a political move.”

The appointment has become an issue in the homestretch of the attorney general’s race. Komatireddy, a former federal prosecutor challenging James’s re-election bid, has used the remarks as fodder against her, saying James had “never prosecuted a sexual assault case. And she’s already screwed this one up by prejudging it.” James defended her social-media post at a recent debate against Komatireddy: “Those comments demonstrate empathy, and what we need now more than ever in our body politic is more empathy.”

James’s public statements have faced court scrutiny before. In her civil fraud case, President Trump unsuccessfully sought to dismiss the lawsuit in part because of her statements about him, including her campaign promise to be a “pain in the ass” to Trump. Trump has also weighed in on the Cornell appointment, saying potential defendants “won’t get a fair shake.” The appointment has elevated James’s profile as New York’s highest court prepares to consider her yearslong civil fraud case against Trump and his business in January, after a midlevel appeals court threw out the more than $500 million penalty she won against the president.