NEW YORK — New York Attorney General Letitia James declined Friday to answer questions about a Facebook post she made days before taking over the investigation into allegations that a Cornell University student was s*xually assaulted by multiple fraternity members.
James was asked about the Sept. 28 post during her first news conference after Gov. Kathy Hochul appointed her special prosecutor in the case. The reporter questioned why James had appeared to affirm the woman’s allegations before conducting her own investigation and why Hochul had selected her to lead the probe.
James did not address the substance of the question.
“I will not comment on a Facebook post,” James said.
Her post said: “What this young woman has been forced to endure is horrific and unacceptable. I’m holding her in my heart and in my prayers. To her, and to all survivors: you’re not alone. We stand with you.”
The wording has drawn attention because James is now responsible for conducting the criminal investigation into the allegations.
Hochul Defends James Appointment
Hochul defended her decision to appoint James and said the attorney general would examine the evidence before reaching conclusions.
“I have every confidence in our attorney general to do what she’s always done, look at the facts, examine the record, and draw the proper conclusions,” Hochul said. “That’s exactly what is going to happen in this case.”
Hochul signed an executive order Thursday appointing James’ office as special prosecutor. The order gives James authority to oversee the criminal investigation and, if warranted, present evidence to a grand jury.
James said Thursday that the investigation would be guided by the facts and the law.
“Every New Yorker deserves to know that when they report a crime, it will be investigated fully and fairly,” James said in a statement. She added that her office would lead a process “guided by the facts and the law.”
Investigation Reopened After Lawsuit
The plaintiff in the case is a former student at Cornell, who is identified in court documents as Jane Doe. According to the civil lawsuit Doe filed in September, she was s*xually assaulted by seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity at a fraternity house in October of 2024.
The men named in the lawsuit have denied wrongdoing through their attorneys. No criminal charges were filed after the initial investigation.
Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten later announced that his office had reopened the criminal investigation after the lawsuit and additional information brought renewed attention to the case.
The handling of the preliminary investigation has since come under scrutiny.
Van Houten told CBS News that he had not seen the transcript of Jane Doe’s interview in which she reportedly expressed confidence that she had been s*xually assaulted.
“I never saw it, never heard it until tonight,” he said. Cornell, however, said its police department had provided prosecutors with the woman’s sworn six-page statement and a screenshot from Snapchat.
The conflicting accounts have become part of the questions surrounding the original investigation.
Cornell Also Conducted Internal Investigation
Cornell conducted its own Title IX investigation following the woman’s report. The university said disciplinary proceedings resulted in expulsions and suspensions for several of the students involved, while other cases had different outcomes.
The university has also backed an independent review of how it handled the case as scrutiny has intensified.
Hochul has criticized the way local authorities handled the allegations and said the woman had been failed by institutions that were supposed to protect her.
She has also called for changes to New York law concerning cases involving people who are too intoxicated to consent.
The governor’s decision to bring in James moves the criminal investigation away from the local prosecutor’s office.
However, her Facebook post raised questions about whether her public comments could create an appearance that she had formed a view of the allegations before completing an independent review of the evidence.
