Cornell 7 case: Calls for Letitia James to recuse herself from probe on grounds of impartiality

The attorney for one of the defendants in the case involving the alleged gang sexual assault of a Cornell University student requested that New York Attorney General Letitia James step aside from the investigation for publicly expressing a stance.

James was appointed by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to investigate this case, removing the Tompkins County district attorney from the case.

Andrew Miltenberg, attorney for one of the defendants, explained that the New York attorney general expressed her opinion on this case before Hochul handed the investigation over to her.

"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 sent to Fox News.

The events allegedly took place in 2024. On Nov. 8 of that year, a former student—referred to as "Jane Doe" because her identity has not been disclosed—claimed that she was drugged and sexually assaulted by a group of at least seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity. The accused deny the allegations.

On Sept. 14, 2026—nearly two years later—the alleged victim filed a complaint against Cornell University and these seven individuals, claiming that she was indeed drugged and sexually assaulted that day on campus and that the university did not take her side.

The attorneys for two of the other accused individuals denied that their clients had participated in a sexual assault.

Following the public outcry and the filing of the complaint by the alleged victim, Cornell University decided to hire an external legal team to conduct an independent review of how it had handled the case.