New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul has taken the controversial “Cornell 7” case away from the local district attorney and handed it to Attorney General Letitia James as a special prosecutor — even as both Hochul and James have already made public statements that raise questions about how dispassionately the new investigation will approach the allegations.
Hochul signed an executive order Thursday directing James to investigate allegations that a Cornell University student was sexually assaulted by multiple fraternity members in October 2024 and, “if warranted,” present evidence to a grand jury and prosecute any offenses.
The order calls for a “full, reasoned, and independent investigation” guided by the facts and the law.
At a Friday press conference, however, Hochul described the woman’s allegations as a fact, before accusing Cornell police and the Tompkins County district attorney of failing her.
“In what world would the police learn from a victim that she’d been literally gang raped while intoxicated by five men in a fraternity house, and not elevate those allegations to the district attorney?” Hochul asked.
Hochul also acknowledged that she lacked a full account of what happened.
“We don’t know enough,” Hochul said at one point. “I want the truth.” She later added, “I’m not going to draw conclusions until I have the full picture.”
James had also publicly addressed the case before Hochul appointed her. Three days before becoming special prosecutor, James wrote on her official New York Attorney General Facebook account that “what this young woman has been forced to endure is horrific and unacceptable” and said she was holding the woman “in my heart and in my prayers.”
At the press conference, a reporter asked James how she could conduct an impartial investigation after making those comments.
Hochul cut off the question meant for James: “I have every confidence in our attorney general to do what she has always done — look at the facts, examine the record, and draw the proper conclusions,” Hochul said.
“I will not comment on a Facebook post,” James responded afterward.
In her statement following the appointment, James pledged a fair investigation.
“Every New Yorker deserves to know that when they report a crime, it will be investigated fully and fairly,” James said. “I stand ready to lead a process New Yorkers can trust, guided by the facts and the law.”
James said her office would review the evidence, interview witnesses, and pursue prosecutions “if warranted.”
The executive order gives her office extraordinary control over the case. It displaces the jurisdiction of Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten and grants James’ office the authority to conduct the investigation, present evidence to a grand jury, and prosecute any resulting offenses.
The order says Van Houten’s office declined to prosecute in November 2024 without interviewing the woman and relied, “at least in part,” on a police statement that allegedly omitted her assertion that she had been sexually assaulted.
Van Houten has since reopened the investigation after the woman filed a civil lawsuit last month containing new allegations and evidence. His office has said it plans to present the case to a grand jury. Hochul said the newly surfaced information caused her to lose confidence in the local prosecutor.
The allegations stem from an October 2024 gathering at the Cornell-affiliated Chi Phi fraternity. The woman, identified in court filings as Jane Doe, alleges that she was drugged and sexually assaulted by multiple fraternity members. The seven men named in her lawsuit have faced intense public scrutiny, while attorneys for some of the accused have denied the allegations. The original criminal investigation ended without charges.
Hochul has also used the case to call for changes to New York law concerning sexual assault and intoxication, arguing that voluntary intoxication should not prevent prosecution when a person is too intoxicated to consent.
“I support closing this loophole,” Hochul said.
The governor has separately pressed Cornell to conduct an independent review of its handling of the allegations. She said Friday that she does not yet have enough information to determine whether Cornell officials or the district attorney committed additional wrongdoing.
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