{"id":14141,"date":"2026-11-06T11:45:11","date_gmt":"2026-11-06T11:45:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=14141"},"modified":"2026-11-06T11:45:11","modified_gmt":"2026-11-06T11:45:11","slug":"4-cornell-lawsuit-defendants-join-effort-to-oust-letitia-james-from-criminal-investigation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=14141","title":{"rendered":"4 Cornell lawsuit defendants join effort to oust Letitia James from criminal investigation"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Chalk messages reading “1300 reports in residence halls” and “No Justice” are written on a sidewalk at the Ag Quad as the Cornell University Faculty Senate meets to consider a resolution declaring no confidence in the university administration’s handling of a student’s allegation that she was gang-raped at an October 2024 fraternity party on campus, in Ithaca, New York, Oct. 14. Reuters-Yonhap<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

NEW YORK \u2014 Four men named in a former Cornell University student\u2019s lawsuit are joining a co-defendant\u2019s effort to block New York\u2019s attorney general from leading a reopened criminal investigation into the woman\u2019s gang rape allegations, according to court filings on Thursday.<\/p>\n

The co-defendant\u2019s lawyers said the men agreed to be added to a court petition that seeks Attorney General Letitia James’ removal from the case because of social media posts she made prior to her involvement in which she condemned the alleged assault and expressed support for the accuser.<\/p>\n

The development comes a day after James appointed Jacqueline Kelly, a former federal prosecutor who oversaw sex crimes cases against music mogul Sean \u2018Diddy\u2019 Combs , as outside counsel for the investigation. She and a team of lawyers and investigators will be responsible for evidence gathering, witness interviews and other investigative steps. They will report to James.<\/p>\n

A judge heard arguments last week on one of the accused men\u2019s request to remove James but said he wouldn’t rule without knowing if the six other lawsuit defendants backed the effort. He gave the man\u2019s lawyers until Thursday to try to get them to join.<\/p>\n

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This July 22, 2025, photo provided by the law firm Boies Schiller Flexner shows partner Jacqueline Kelly, who was appointed as outside counsel for New York Attorney General Letitia James’ criminal investigation into gang rape allegations at Cornell University, in New York. AP-Yonhap<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lawyers for one of the four men agreeing to join had separately filed court papers seeking to have James removed. Two other men named as defendants in the lawsuit didn’t have lawyers who could speak for them and did not provide a response, court filings said.<\/p>\n

James’ office declined to comment.<\/p>\n

A former Cornell student identified in court papers as Jane Doe filed a lawsuit in September 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 were accused of rape.<\/p>\n

James, a Democrat, posted about the case on X and Facebook on Sept. 28, linking to a news article about the lawsuit. \u201cI\u2019m holding her in my heart and in my prayers. To her, and to all survivors: you\u2019re not alone. We stand with you.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Oct. 1, Gov. Kathy Hochul appointed James as special prosecutor overseeing the criminal investigation, saying that she had lost faith in the local district attorney, who declined to bring charges in 2024 but had said he would restart the investigation following the former student\u2019s lawsuit.<\/p>\n

James initially declined to comment about her social media posts but addressed them at an Oct. 8 debate, saying: \u201cThose comments demonstrate empathy, and what we need now more than ever in our body politic is more empathy.”<\/p>\n

In court, the state\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

In a statement on Wednesday, James said she is confident that Kelly \u201cwill lead a fair and comprehensive investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Andrew Miltenberg, a lawyer for the man spearheading the removal effort, said in a court filing that Kelly’s appointment \u201cchanges the face of the investigation” but “does not establish any change in ultimate authority.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Chalk messages reading “1300 reports in residence halls” and “No Justice” are written on a sidewalk at the Ag Quad as the Cornell University Faculty Senate meets to consider a resolution declaring no confidence in the university administration’s handling of a student’s allegation that she was gang-raped at an October 2024 fraternity party on campus,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_templately_pack_id":"","_templately_imported_at":"","_templately_source":"","_templately_import_session_id":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14141","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-korea","category-trending-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t