Attorney for former Cornell fraternity member wants AG James off case over post supporting accuser
The attorney for one of the former Cornell University Chi Phi fraternity members named in an explosive sex abuse lawsuit is raising questions about the appointment of New York Attorney General Letitia James as an independent prosecutor days after he says the state's top cop publicly took sides in the case before seeing the evidence.
"My issue is not political, and it is not personal," attorney Andrew Miltenberg told Fox News. "Several days before her appointment, Letitia James made some comments on X, and those comments are such that I think it's fair to look at them and say it appears that the person making those comments [is] biased."
He took issue with a Sept. 28 post from James’ official X account telling Doe, "We stand with you" and for accepting the premise that Doe is a "survivor" before becoming involved in the investigation.
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"What this young woman has been forced to endure is horrific and unacceptable," James wrote along with a link to a news article about the case. "I’m holding her in my heart and in my prayers. To her, and to all survivors: you’re not alone. We stand with you."
Then on Oct. 1, Gov. Kathy Hochul appointed James' office as special prosecutor for a new investigation.
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Afterward, James vowed that her office would investigate "fully and fairly" in a follow-up post.
"It's OK to offer compassion and be empathetic to survivors of sexual assault, or any violent crime or any crime whatsoever, for that matter," he continued. "But when that compassion is from a person who is now tasked with an independent investigation, her words, I think, are reasonably read as she's accepted a central factual premise of the allegations, and that person should not be tasked with an independent investigation."
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He said that in his view, James "has to answer" for the post and could easily fix the issue by "gracefully" stepping back.
Speaking on "Fox & Friends" Thursday morning, legal analyst Mehek Cooke, called James' appointment "unprofessional" and "a violation of professional responsibility" based on the language she used on social media.
"Imagine being on the other side," she said. "Imagine having to defend yourself when you have the lead prosecutor who is saying she 'stands with' Jane Doe."
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She is calling on James to recuse herself and have federal prosecutors step in.
Miltenberg is a New York attorney who specializes in Title IX and civil rights cases. He said he represents a former Chi Phi member who is still a Cornell student after serving a one-year suspension.
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According to Miltenberg, Doe kissed his client first and did not see her drinking alcohol or doing drugs.
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"He was 50% of that consent, and she was 50% of that consent," he said. "They had a mutual sexual interaction, mutually consented to."
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He did, however, call for a thorough investigation while arguing that the public has only seen a glimpse of the evidence in the case — which even before the renewed attention involved a six-month university investigation, dozens of witnesses, nearly two weeks of hearings, a 100-page decision, appeals and appellate decisions.
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"These are terrible allegations, and clearly something happened," he said. "Jane Doe deserves to be treated with respect and dignity. And the allegations need to and must be treated with respect and dignity."
The lawsuit names seven former Chi Phi members, as well as the fraternity and affiliated entities, Cornell University, Doe's own sorority and a local bar where she alleges she was served drinks underage.
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The alleged gang rape took place overnight from Oct. 19 to 20, 2024. Doe initially reported the incident to university police on Nov. 8, 2024. The school suspended the fraternity and opened an investigation, but Tompkins County prosecutors declined to file charges based on a six-page sworn statement signed by Doe that did not include the most explosive allegations in a reported transcript of her interview with detectives.
"The statement – especially as it relates to the legal definition of 'lack of consent' – provides a different narrative and set of facts of the events of October 19, 2024 than those alleged in the lawsuit," Tompkins County District Attorney Matt Van Houten wrote in a statement posted to his website last month.
Doe herself made more than 20 "hand-written notations" on the six-page document, he said. When confronted with reports that she had made more explicit allegations about the case in her interview with police, Van Houten said that changed his view of the case.
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