Lawyer for Accused Cornell Student Urges Letitia James to Step Aside

New York Attorney General Letitia James is being urged to recuse herself from the investigation into an alleged sexual assault at Cornell University after a defense attorney questioned whether she had already embraced the accuser’s account before taking charge of the case.

Andrew Miltenberg, who represents one of seven former fraternity members named in a civil lawsuit, said James’ earlier public comments in support of the woman raised “an avoidable question about the appearance of impartiality.”

“The concern is whether the public can have confidence that the investigation begins without any predetermined view of the facts,” Miltenberg said in a statement to Fox News.

Gov. Kathy Hochul appointed the attorney general’s office as special prosecutor Thursday, replacing Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten in the inquiry into an alleged October 2024 sexual assault at Cornell’s Chi Phi fraternity house.

The woman, identified as Jane Doe in court filings, claims that seven former fraternity members drugged and sexually assaulted her. The men have denied wrongdoing. Some say the sexual activity was consensual, while others deny taking part. No criminal charges have been filed against any of the seven men.

Miltenberg’s challenge focuses on remarks James made before her office was selected to oversee the criminal investigation. In a public statement, she called what the woman had “been forced to endure” “horrific and unacceptable” and told her, along with “all survivors,” that “we stand with you.”

Asked at Friday’s news conference whether the Facebook post raised questions about her objectivity, James replied, “I will not comment on a Facebook post.”

Donna Rotunno, a criminal defense attorney and Fox News contributor, also questioned James’ involvement during an appearance on Fox News’ “The Big Weekend Show.”

“But it should be fair. It should be impartial. And it should not be from someone who’s already made a public statement on Facebook about it,” Rotunno said while discussing the reopened investigation.

James has said the investigation will be conducted according to “the facts and the law.”

Miltenberg said his objections were not politically motivated and did not minimize the seriousness of the sexual assault allegations.

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“There is nothing improper about expressing compassion for someone who reports a sexual assault,” Miltenberg said. “But there is an important difference between supporting a person who makes an allegation and appearing to accept the factual premise of that allegation before conducting an investigation.”

He called on James to recuse herself personally while permitting senior prosecutors in her office who have not commented publicly on the substance of the allegations to lead the investigation.

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“That would not weaken the investigation. It would strengthen it,” Miltenberg said.

He said the independence and public-confidence concerns that led to the appointment of a special prosecutor should also apply to the official overseeing the replacement investigation.

“I am not suggesting that Attorney General James does not believe she can be fair,” he said.

The case drew renewed scrutiny after Doe filed a civil lawsuit Sept. 16, nearly two years after the alleged assault. The complaint also names Cornell, fraternity entities, Doe’s sorority and a local bar, among others, alleging failures to protect her.

Van Houten initially declined to pursue criminal charges, saying the signed statement his office received from Cornell University Police did not establish a crime under New York law. He said prosecutors assumed Doe’s account was true and that her credibility was “never in question.”

He later reopened the investigation after the lawsuit surfaced.

Questions about the original investigation intensified when CBS News presented Van Houten with a fuller transcript of Doe’s police interviews that he said his office had never received.

“That wasn’t information that I had,” Van Houten said, adding that its existence “changes the landscape for me.”

Rotunno also questioned why prosecutors had not sought the complete investigative record before deciding against charges.

“The real question is, why didn’t the DA ask for every piece of information that the campus police gathered?” she said on “The Big Weekend Show.”

She warned against allowing public reaction to drive the case.

“We are watching the court of public opinion take over here when we don’t know the facts,” Rotunno said.

Cornell has separately agreed to an independent review of its handling of the allegations. University President Michael Kotlikoff said its disciplinary process resulted in two expulsions and two suspensions of at least two semesters. One student graduated before discipline could be imposed, and two were found not responsible for sexual misconduct.

Those proceedings are separate from the criminal investigation.

Cornell previously told Fox News it “fully support[s] the appointment of a special prosecutor” and is committed to “an independent external review of all aspects of how Cornell has handled this case.”

Miltenberg said any decision about criminal charges should come from prosecutors whose impartiality the public can trust.

“The simplest way to remove that question is for her personally to recuse herself and allow an uncommitted prosecutor within her office to lead the investigation,” he said.