Defense says James’s posts show presumption of guilt
A state judge is considering on Thursday whether Attorney General Letitia James should be removed as special prosecutor in the renewed criminal investigation into gang rape allegations at Cornell University, after a lawyer for one of the accused men argued that social media posts she published just days before her appointment showed bias against the defendants.
The lawyer, Andrew Miltenberg, wrote that James’s Sept. 28 post “has unequivocally demonstrated a bias and presumption of guilt against the defendants” named in Jane Doe’s lawsuit. He asked Judge James R. Farrell to order Hochul to appoint a special prosecutor “who is free from actual or perceived conflicts of interest or bias.”
James published the post to X and Facebook on Sept. 28, linking to a news article about the lawsuit. “What this young woman has been forced to endure is horrific and unacceptable,” she wrote. “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.”
Jane Doe filed the lawsuit last month, alleging that several men raped her at a fraternity party in October 2024. She said some of the men pressured her into using ketamine and marijuana and that she drank alcohol that left her too intoxicated to consent.
On Oct. 1, Hochul signed an executive order taking the case away from the local prosecutor, Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten, who declined to bring charges in 2024, and naming James as special prosecutor.
Within days, lawyers for two of the men named as defendants in Jane Doe’s lawsuit filed challenges to James’s appointment. Farrell is hearing one on Thursday in Monticello, about 72 miles (116 kilometers) northwest of Manhattan. The other was filed in Tompkins County, where Cornell is located. James, a Democrat, is not expected to attend the hearing.
James’s office argued in a court filing that the challenge is “procedurally defective and substantively meritless,” noting that courts have previously ruled that the governor is free to exercise her executive power as she chooses, such as in appointing a special prosecutor.
“While Petitioner relies on the AG’s remarks in a single social media post as proof that the various ills he fears will come to pass, such speculative and conclusory claims of harm — premised entirely on his own mischaracterization of the AG’s statements — are insufficient for hardship,” Assistant Attorney General Kaitlin Vigars wrote.
At a news conference to announce her appointment, James declined to comment when asked about the social media posts. Hochul said she had no qualms about naming her as special prosecutor.
“I have every confidence in our attorney general to do what she has always done: Look at the facts, examine the record, draw the proper conclusions,” Hochul said. “That’s exactly what’s going to happen in this case.”
James has been involved in a number of high-profile cases, most notably against the National Rifle Association and President Donald Trump. She labeled Trump a “con man” and “carnival barker” and pledged to shine a “bright light into every dark corner of his real estate dealings.” She also led a civil investigation that led to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s resignation over sexual harassment allegations.