President Donald Trump has a blunt warning about Letitia James’ role in a closely watched Cornell University sexual assault investigation: He doesn’t trust her to give the accused a fair hearing.
The New York attorney general is pushing back, promising a fair investigation while defending the public comments that helped ignite the controversy.
“Letitia James is a corrupt person,” Trump said when Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy asked about Gov. Kathy Hochul’s decision to appoint her as special prosecutor.
“And I feel badly for whoever she’s looking at because they won’t get a fair shake,” Trump added, according to Fox News.
James’ response: Her office will follow the evidence.
Speaking to a reporter Friday, October 16, she pledged a fair investigation. During a campaign debate, she also rejected claims that she had already made up her mind, saying “politics stops at the door” of her office, Fox News reported.
The Post Behind The Fight
Trump isn’t the only person questioning James’ impartiality.
Lawyers for two men named in the underlying civil lawsuit — Gillio Lopes and Winston Lee — have sought her removal. Their objections focus on a social media message James published before receiving the special prosecutor assignment.
“What this young woman has been forced to endure is horrific and unacceptable,” James wrote September 28.
“To her, and to all survivors: you’re not alone. We stand with you.”
Defense attorneys argue that those words signal she accepted the allegations before conducting the investigation. James has characterized the message as an expression of “empathy,” according to Fox News.
ABC News reported that Lopes’ attorney formally asked a court to overturn her appointment. Doe’s attorney, Thomas Giuffra, has rejected defense arguments challenging her account as self-serving. The accused men deny wrongdoing.
Hochul Stands By Her Pick
The case stems from allegations that a woman identified as Jane Doe was sexually assaulted by seven men at Cornell’s Chi Phi fraternity house in October 2024.
Local prosecutors initially declined to pursue charges. Cornell’s separate disciplinary investigation resulted in two expulsions and two suspensions, Fox News reported.
Hochul appointed James on October 1 after raising concerns about the original investigation. Her executive order gives James authority to investigate and, if warranted, pursue criminal charges, superseding the local district attorney’s jurisdiction over the matter.
The governor has stood by that decision, saying she has “every confidence” James will “look at the facts, examine the record and draw the proper conclusions,” according to Fox News.
The dispute now reaches beyond Trump’s familiar feud with James: Defense attorneys are asking courts to determine whether her comments should disqualify her from overseeing the investigation.
