Letitia James faces growing removal challenge as four more Cornell defendants join court petition

Four men named in a Cornell University lawsuit have joined a legal effort to remove Letitia James from the reopened sexual assault investigation.

New York Attorney General Letitia James is facing a broader legal challenge over her authority in a reopened Cornell University sexual assault investigation, after four men named in a former student’s lawsuit agreed to support an effort to have her removed from the case.

The latest development puts renewed attention on the question of whether James can oversee the investigation without concerns about impartiality, following social media comments she made in support of the woman who reported the alleged assault.

The Associated Press reported that the four men agreed to join a court petition initially brought by one of their co-defendants. The petition argues that James’ public statements before her appointment as special prosecutor could compromise her ability to approach the investigation objectively.

The legal challenge comes as the attorney general begins assembling a team to handle the case. On November 4, James announced that Jacqueline Kelly, a former federal prosecutor and current partner at Boies Schiller Flexner, would serve as outside counsel leading the investigative work.

Kelly previously headed the Civil Rights Unit in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.

Her responsibilities include reviewing existing investigative records, gathering evidence, interviewing witnesses and assessing the facts and applicable law. However, Kelly and her team will report to James, a distinction that has become central to the defendants’ argument.

Andrew Miltenberg, the lawyer representing the man who first sought James’ removal, acknowledged that Kelly’s appointment changes the structure of the investigation but argued in court filings that it does not transfer ultimate authority away from the attorney general.

The dispute follows a judge’s decision to give the other six defendants named in the civil lawsuit an opportunity to indicate whether they supported the removal request before he ruled. Four have now agreed to join the effort. The remaining two did not respond, according to the court filings cited by the AP. James’ office declined to comment.

The underlying case dates back to October 2024, when a former Cornell student, identified in court documents as Jane Doe, alleges she was sexually assaulted by multiple men at a fraternity gathering. Her September 2026 lawsuit claims that some of the men pressured her to consume ketamine and marijuana and that alcohol left her too intoxicated to consent. Importantly, not every man named in the lawsuit is accused of personally committing rape.

No criminal charges had been filed against the men when the original investigation concluded. The Tompkins County district attorney later announced that the criminal investigation had been reopened after the civil lawsuit brought renewed attention to the allegations.

On October 1, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul appointed James as special prosecutor, saying she had lost confidence in the local prosecutor’s handling of the matter. James had previously posted on social media expressing support for the woman and other survivors. She defended those comments during an October 8 debate, describing them as expressions of empathy.

The latest court challenge therefore raises a difficult question for the investigation: whether the attorney general’s public response to the allegations should disqualify her from overseeing the criminal process. The judge’s decision could determine whether James remains in charge or whether the case requires a different supervisory arrangement.