Donald Trump said he feels “badly” for the seven Cornell fraternity members under investigation by New York Attorney General Letitia James, whom he accused of being “corrupt.”
The president renewed his attacks on James, repeating the controversial “Peekaboo” nickname he has used for her after New York Governor Kathy Hochul appointed her special prosecutor in the alleged gang-rape case.
On Thursday, Hochul, a Democrat, signed an executive order naming James to oversee the investigation into allegations that a woman was gang raped by seven fraternity members.
Trump had previously told reporters that he believed Cornell University would “do what’s right” in response to the allegations. But on Friday, he criticized Hochul’s decision to appoint James.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote: “Why would the Governor of New York, Kathy Hochul, appoint a Corrupt Prosecutor, Letitia ‘Peekaboo’ James, to represent the State in the highly controversial Cornell University rape case?”
Critics have previously accused Trump’s use of the nickname of being racist, a claim he has denied.
Asked about the case again on Friday, Trump did not offer detailed comments about the people involved. He said, however, that he believed James would prevent the defendants from receiving fair treatment.
“Well, Letitia James is a corrupt person. She’s totally corrupt and I cannot imagine it, and I feel badly for whoever she’s looking at, because they won’t get a fair shake. Letitia James is a corrupt person,” Trump said.
Donald Trump criticized New York Governor Kathy Hochul for appointing Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor in the Cornell 7 alleged gang-rape case, calling her “corrupt”
James previously brought a civil lawsuit against Trump, accusing his business of financial fraud; the case resulted in a fine of more than $400 million before the penalty was later voided as excessive
The Daily Mail has contacted Hochul and James for comment.
James previously filed a civil lawsuit alleging that Trump’s business committed financial fraud. The case led to the president being fined more than $400 million, although the penalty was later voided as excessive.
Last October, James was federally indicted on allegations of bank fraud and making false statements. The case was dismissed a month later.
Trump had earlier said that, while he did not “know that much about it,” Cornell was a “fine school” and that he was sure the university would “do what’s right.”
Hochul said she had “lost faith” in the local investigation when she announced the appointment of a special prosecutor in the Cornell case.
“New information has raised serious questions about how this case was handled, and I’ve lost faith in the Tompkins County District Attorney’s ability to fairly oversee it,” Hochul said.
“The young woman at the center of this case deserves to know that every fact will be examined and justice pursued.”
Hochul’s decision followed the release of a transcript in which the alleged victim told Cornell police that she was “100 percent” certain she had been assaulted.
Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten has said his decision not to charge the seven alleged perpetrators at the time was based on the contents of Jane Doe’s signed 2024 statement.
Democrat Kathy Hochul signed an executive order on Thursday appointing James to oversee the investigation after a previous district attorney declined to charge seven fraternity members accused by a woman of gang rape
But he told CBS News on Tuesday he had never before seen the transcript showing what Jane Doe told campus police.
The District Attorney said he will now seek a copy of the transcript and follow up with Cornell police.
‘Nobody knows this information about the transcript and that gives me something to really dig into because that changes the landscape for me,’ he said.
Cornell officials, meanwhile, said its police department provided the results of the school’s investigation to the District Attorney’s Office as prosecutors reconsider whether to bring charges against the alleged rapists.
University officials have also said they agreed to undertake an independent investigation into its handling of the matter.
The case gained renewed attention after Jane Doe filed a civil suit on September 16.
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It alleges that Doe, then 20, arrived at the fraternity house on October 19, 2024, already heavily intoxicated following a night of drinking in Ithaca.
She alleges she was pressured to take ketamine and given marijuana and high-proof alcohol before being repeatedly sexually assaulted as additional fraternity members entered the room.
Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten has said his decision not to bring charges against the seven alleged perpetrators was based on the contents of Jane Doe’s signed 2024 statement and not what is contained inside a new lawsuit she filed
Hochul said she ‘lost faith’ in the local probe into the Cornell rape case as she announced James’ appointment
The complaint alleges seven men eventually participated and that Doe became ‘completely incapacitated.’ She says the ordeal continued until around 5.45am, when she lost consciousness.
It also claims that during the assault, one fraternity member posted to a ‘Chi Phi Actives’ Snapchat group that there was ‘free p***y’ upstairs, referring to Doe.
‘Like you can walk in and whip it out,’ another member allegedly responded, according to a screenshot described in the filing.
Doe reported the allegations to Cornell University Police on November 8 after friends encouraged her to come forward, according to the lawsuit.
Cornell temporarily suspended the fraternity and seven students that day.
The defendants have not all publicly responded to the allegations but no criminal charges have been filed.
Kretzschmar, Norris and Lopes have now publicly denied participating in the alleged sexual assaults or drug use described in the complaint.
Jeremy Saland, an attorney for defendant Scott Kretzschmar, said the alleged incident ‘did not happen.’
Trump deployed his favorite nickname for James – ‘Peekaboo’ – a moniker which has been criticized as racist although the president denies the claims
‘At bottom, Scott never sexually assaulted or even touched the plaintiff in any way. Period,’ Saland said.
‘We look forward to confronting the plaintiff in a court of law for her selfishly false claims with both the evidence and her own words.’
Defendant Scott Norris separately denied participating in sexual activity or drug use, while acknowledging sending one message cited in the complaint.
‘I did not participate in any sexual activity or drug use,’ Norris said. ‘I thoughtlessly engaged in Snapchat and briefly stopped in the room where misconduct happened but not when it happened.’
In 2024, Ingalls, Newell, Lee and Sarabia acknowledged having sexual contact with the woman but said that their interactions had been consensual. All men denied any wrongdoing during the Title IX investigation.
Cornell previously defended its handling of the situation, insisting it conducted a thorough investigation which resulted in expulsions and the fraternity being barred from campus.
The accuser, only identified in court documents as Jane Doe, spoke with campus police on November 14. Students are pictured walking past Cornell Police headquarters on Wednesday
For Doe, her attorney says the consequences have stretched far beyond the night at the center of the lawsuit.
He has claimed his client continues to suffer from anxiety, depression and sleepless nights and stopped attending Cornell following the alleged attack.
‘She is basically stalled, and her life is devoted to dealing with the trauma,’ Giuffra previously told the Daily Mail. ‘It’s like a constant, constant reminder.’
‘You could give her all the money in the world; nobody wants to have this as their story. Nobody wants to have this in their lives.’
The Daily Mail contacted James and Hochul for comment.