James appointed former federal prosecutor Jacqueline Kelly as outside counsel a day earlier
Four men named in a former Cornell University student’s lawsuit have agreed to join a co-defendant’s effort to block New York Attorney General Letitia James from leading a reopened criminal investigation into the woman’s gang rape allegations, according to court filings Thursday. The co-defendant’s lawyers said the men agreed to be added to a court petition seeking James’ removal from the case because of social media posts she made before her involvement in which she condemned the alleged assault and expressed support for the accuser.
The filings came a day after James appointed Jacqueline Kelly, a former federal prosecutor who oversaw sex crimes cases against music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, as outside counsel for the investigation. Kelly and a team of lawyers and investigators will be responsible for evidence gathering, witness interviews and other investigative steps, and they will report to James.
A judge heard arguments last week on one of the accused men’s request to remove James but said he would not rule without knowing whether the lawsuit’s six other defendants backed the effort. The judge gave the man’s lawyers until Thursday to try to persuade them to join.
Lawyers for one of the four men joining the petition had separately filed court papers seeking James’ removal. Court filings said two other men named as defendants in the lawsuit did not have lawyers who could speak for them and did not provide a response.
James’ office declined to comment.
The dispute grew out of a lawsuit filed in September by a former Cornell student identified in court papers as Jane Doe, alleging that several men raped her at a fraternity party in 2024. The woman said some of the men pressured her into using ketamine and marijuana and that she drank alcohol that left her too intoxicated to consent. Not all of the men named in the lawsuit were accused of rape.
James, a Democrat, posted about the case on X and Facebook on Sept. 28, linking to a news article about the lawsuit. “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,” the posts said.
On Oct. 1, Gov. Kathy Hochul appointed James as special prosecutor overseeing the criminal investigation, saying she had lost faith in the local district attorney. The district attorney declined to bring charges in 2024 but had said he would restart the investigation after the former student filed her lawsuit.
James initially declined to comment about her social media posts but addressed them at an Oct. 8 debate. “Those comments demonstrate empathy, and what we need now more than ever in our body politic is more empathy,” she said.
In court, the state’s lawyers argued that Hochul has wide latitude to appoint special prosecutors and said she picked James because of her track record handling sensitive cases in the national spotlight.
In a statement Wednesday, James said she is confident that Kelly “will lead a fair and comprehensive investigation.”
Andrew Miltenberg, a lawyer for the man spearheading the removal effort, said in a court filing that Kelly’s appointment “changes the face of the investigation” but “does not establish any change in ultimate authority.”