Cornell probe defendant demands Letitia James be removed as special prosecutor, claiming attorney general ‘unequivocally demonstrated a bias’

One of the former fraternity brothers accused of gang raping a colleague at Cornell University is demanding New York Attorney General Letitia James be removed as a special prosecutor in the case.

Democrat Governor Kathy Hochul announced last week she had signed an executive order appointing James to oversee the case in which a woman claims she was gang raped at the Chi Phi fraternity house on October 19, 2024.

‘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.

‘That’s exactly what’s going to happen in this case.’

But just three days before the announcement, James seemingly declared her support for the alleged victim.

‘What this young woman has been forced to endure is horrific and unacceptable,’ she posted on X on September 28. ‘I’m holding her in my heart and in my prayers.’

Attorneys for defendant Gillio Lopes now argue in a petition filed in Albany County Supreme Court that James has ‘unequivocally demonstrated a bias and presumption of guilt against the Defendants named in the civil case,’ NBC News reports.

Her post, they say, ‘made clear that she has formed an opinion about the case’ and that ‘she has already reached the conclusion that Petitioner and the other named Defendants are guilty.’ 

Lopes’ lawyers are therefore asking a judge to remove James as special prosecutor and instead appoint someone ‘who is free from actual or perceived conflicts of interest or bias.’

The Article 78 petition filed on Wednesday also names Hochul as a defendant. 

‘As Governor Hochul has said, the public needs confidence in the individual leading this investigation,’ Stuart Bernstein, an attorney for Lopes, said in a statement.

‘Attorney General James, based upon her very public statements validating Jane Doe, certainly doesn’t instill confidence in a fair investigation.’

His comments come just one day after another of Lopes’ attorneys, Andrew Miltenberg, said he welcomes Cornell’s decision to hire former Acting US Attorney General Sally Yates to conduct its own independent review. 

‘In our experience, Cornell’s investigation have generally been thorough,’ he claimed.

‘That being said, we have also seen due process problems that have affected respondents, and on at least two occasions we have gone to federal court to address those issues.

‘In this case, we do not agree with the outcome as to Mr Lopes,’ Miltenberg noted.

Lopes and the other former members of the Chi Phi fraternity have denied any wrongdoing, and were never charged with any crimes after the Tompkins County District Attorney’s Office concluded there was not enough evidence to convict. 

But the case drew renewed attention after the accuser, only referred to in court documents as Jane Doe, filed a civil lawsuit on September 16.

It alleges that she arrived at the fraternity house on October 19, 2024, already heavily intoxicated following a night of drinking in Ithaca.

Doe also alleges she was pressured to take ketamine and given marijuana and high-proof alcohol before being repeatedly sexually assaulted as additional fraternity members entered the room, including Lopes – whom she said kissed her and sexually assaulted her

The complaint goes on to claim seven men eventually participated and that Doe became ‘completely incapacitated.’ She says the ordeal continued until around 5.45am, when she lost consciousness.

It further alleges that during the assault, one fraternity member posted to a ‘Chi Phi Actives’ Snapchat group that there was ‘free p***y’ upstairs, referring to Doe. 

‘Like you can walk in and whip it out,’ another member allegedly responded, according to a screenshot described in the filing. 

Doe reported the allegations to Cornell University Police on November 8 after friends encouraged her to come forward, according to the lawsuit.

Cornell temporarily suspended the fraternity in the aftermath, and Lopes was handed a three-semester suspension with two years of probation.

He has since returned to campus, but his lawyers say he is now considering leaving the school as he faces harassment from other students, The New York Times reports. 

A video on Instagram showed a woman approaching Lopes in a hallway on campus and telling him: ‘I just wanted to let you know personally that I’m ashamed to be on the same campus as you.’

Students have also participated in massive protests against the school’s response to the alleged rape, and the Cornell faculty senate said it plans to vote on a no-confidence resolution against the school’s administrators.

The Daily Mail has reached out to both James’ and Hochul’s office for comment.