Should social media posts prevent the New York Attorney General from conducting a criminal investigation into gang rape allegations at Cornell University?
That’s the question before a state judge Thursday as one of the accused men seeks to remove Attorney General Letitia James as attorney general. special prosecutor oversee the new criminal investigation.
At least one of the two cases against James claims she is biased because she posted messages expressing support for the accuser just days before she was appointed to the case.
Former Cornell student identified in court documents as Jane Doe filed a lawsuit last month alleging that several men raped her during a fraternity party in October 2024. The former student said some of the men pressured her to use ketamine and marijuana and that she drank alcohol that made her too drunk to consent.
“What this young woman was forced to endure is horrible and unacceptable,” James posted on X and Facebook on September 28, linking to a news article about the trial. “I carry her in my heart and in my prayers. To her and to all survivors: you are not alone. We stand with you.”
On Oct. 1, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed an executive order removing the case from the local prosecutor, Tompkins County Prosecutor Matthew Van Houten, who declined to file charges in 2024, and appointing James as special prosecutor.
Within days, attorneys for two of the men named as defendants in Jane Doe’s trial challenged James’ appointment — one whom Judge James R. Farrell will hear Thursday and the other in Tompkins County, where Cornell is located.
James, a Democrat, is not expected to attend the hearing in Monticello, about 70 miles (116 kilometers) northwest of Manhattan.
The attorney for the man whose case is being heard Thursday wrote that James’ social media post “unequivocally demonstrated bias and a presumption of guilt against the defendants” named in Jane Doe’s trial.
Attorney Andrew Miltenberg asked Farrell to order Hochul to appoint a special prosecutor “free from real or perceived conflicts of interest or bias.”
James’ office argued in a court filing that the challenge was “procedurally flawed and fundamentally without merit,” noting that courts have previously ruled that the governor is free to exercise his executive power as he sees fit, such as by appointing a special prosecutor.
“Although Petitioner relies on the AG’s remarks in a single social media post as evidence that the various evils he fears will occur, such speculative and conclusive allegations of harm – based entirely on his own misinterpretation of the AG’s statements – are insufficient to cause hardship,” Assistant Attorney General Kaitlin Vigars wrote.
At a press conference to announce his appointment, James declined to comment when asked about the social media posts. But Hochul said she had no qualms to appoint her special prosecutor.
“I have every confidence in our attorney general to do what she has always done: look at the facts, look at the record, draw the appropriate conclusions,” Hochul said. “That’s exactly what’s going to happen in this case.”
James has been involved in a number of high profile casesnotably against the National Rifle Association and President Donald Trump. She called him a “conman” and a “carnival barker” and vowed to shine “a bright light into every dark corner of his real estate dealings.” She also led a civil investigation that led to the resignation of Governor Andrew Cuomo over sexual harassment allegations.
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