New York Attorney General Letitia James faces a bar ethics complaint over public comments she made about the alleged Cornell University gang rape. James made the comments before she was appointed to lead the criminal investigation, per the New York Post.
Two days before being appointed special prosecution to reopen an investigation into a 2024 alleged gang rape at Cornell University’s Chi Phi house, James shared on social media, “What this young woman has been forced to endure is horrific and unacceptable. James is supposed to conduct a full investigation into what happened at the Chi Phi house on October 19, 2024. The nine-page complaint filed to the court’s Attorney Grievance Committee stated that James should either recuse herself from the case, or be removed. Winston Lee and Gillio Lopes, two men Jane Doe accused in her lawsuit, filed court documents asking James be removed from the case. If warranted, she will be required to present evidence to a grand jury.
“It is clear that she must recuse herself from having anything to do with this case to preserve the impartiality and integrity of any investigation and prosecution,” according to the complaint filed in New York State Supreme Court. Marshall said that James’ statement “raises suspicion of a rigged, pre-determined and illicit investigation. “In this and every investigation, the Office of the Attorney General is committed to conducting a comprehensive review of nothing but the facts, the evidence and the law,” a spokesperson for her office told the New York Post. They said she “made clear… she has already reached the conclusion. … the defendants are guilty.
