Letitia James Faces Bar Ethics Complaint Over ‘Cornell 7’ Comments

New York Attorney General Letitia James is facing a bar ethics complaint over public comments she made about the alleged Cornell University gang rape before being appointed to lead the criminal investigation, adding a professional-conduct challenge to separate efforts by two defense attorneys to remove her from the case.

The National Legal and Policy Center, a Virginia-based watchdog group, filed a nine-page complaint with New York’s Attorney Grievance Committee, arguing that James’ September social media post showed she had prejudged allegations against seven former members of Cornell’s Chi Phi fraternity.

Three days before Gov. Kathy Hochul appointed James as special prosecutor, the attorney general wrote on X: “What this young woman has been forced to endure is horrific and unacceptable.”

“To her, and to all survivors: you’re not alone. We stand with you,” James added in the September 28 post.

The ethics complaint argues that the comments created an appearance of bias before James began investigating the allegations and could undermine public confidence in the proceedings. It asks that James recuse herself or be removed from the investigation.

Legal ethicist Jack Marshall, whose expert report was included with the complaint, argued that the statement violated New York’s professional-conduct rules by publicly expressing a view about a highly publicized case before an investigation had established the facts.

James defended the remarks during a debate Thursday against Republican attorney general candidate Saritha Komatireddy, describing them as an expression of “empathy,” she added, “what we need now more than ever in our body politics is more empathy.”

Despite her appeal to empathetic politics, she concluded: “Politics stops at the door in my office,” insisting that her office would conduct the investigation based on the facts, evidence, and law.

A spokesperson for James’ office similarly said the attorney general remained committed to a comprehensive review guided by “nothing but the facts, the evidence and the law.”

The bar complaint follows separate legal challenges from attorneys representing two of the men accused in a civil lawsuit arising from the alleged October 2024 incident at Cornell.

Attorneys Teny Geragos, Marc Agnifilo, and Jacob Kaplan, who represent Winston Lee, filed a motion seeking to disqualify James from conducting any future grand jury proceedings. They argue that her public remarks could lead prospective grand jurors to believe she had already reached a conclusion about the defendants’ guilt. Lee’s attorneys also asked a judge to consider whether prospective grand jurors had seen James’ comments and to schedule arguments on the issue.

Andrew Miltenberg, who represents another defendant, Gillio Lopes, separately asked a court to remove James from the investigation. Miltenberg has argued that the issue is not whether an official may express compassion for an alleged victim, but whether her language could reasonably be understood as accepting the allegations before reviewing the evidence.

“The public needs confidence that the person directing this investigation will evaluate the evidence with an open mind,” Miltenberg said.

Neither legal challenge establishes that James has violated professional-conduct rules or that a court has determined she is legally disqualified. The ethics complaint is likewise an allegation, not a finding of misconduct.

Hochul appointed James to take over the investigation after expressing a loss of confidence in the handling of the case by Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten. The governor said James would follow the evidence and pursue charges if warranted.

Cornell has supported the appointment of a special prosecutor and has separately agreed to an independent review of its handling of the allegations. The university’s internal disciplinary proceedings resulted in expulsions and suspensions for some of the students, though those proceedings are separate from any potential criminal case.

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