Letitia James not qualified to lead independent investigation on Cornell 7
by Editorial Board · The Washington TimesOPINION:
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat and a candidate for reelection in what is beginning to look like a close race, appointed New York Attorney General Letitia James, also a Democrat running for reelection, to lead an investigation into an alleged gang rape at Cornell University.
Ms. James began her investigation by prejudging the case. She posted on Facebook and X: “What this young woman has been forced to endure is horrific and unacceptable. I’m holding her in my heart and in my prayers. To her and all survivors: you are not alone.”
A more prejudicial statement is difficult to imagine. The purpose of the investigation is to determine whether the alleged victim, identified in a lawsuit filing as “Jane Doe,” was indeed a survivor of sexual assault and was forced to endure anything “horrific and unacceptable.”
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Jane Doe alleges that she went to Cornell’s Chi Phi fraternity house the night of Oct. 19, 2024, and was forced to take drugs and repeatedly raped by seven members of the fraternity, hereafter referred to as the Cornell Seven.
She reported the alleged assault about 2½ weeks later. To complicate matters further, she texted one of her alleged assailants that “non of the sexual stuff was illegal” and that she enjoyed the encounter.
The office of the local district attorney investigated the incident but declined to prosecute. Its statement read in part that Jane Doe “never says she was drugged without her knowledge.” Further, “She admits to taking drugs and alcohol voluntarily and with knowledge. She does not allege that she was forced to engage in any acts. She does not say that she was physically helpless or unconscious or incapacitated at any point during the time at the fraternity house.”
Yet Ms. James decided beforehand that Jane Doe is a “survivor” who “was forced to endure” things which were “horrific and unacceptable.”
Ms. James thrives on political prosecutions.
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During the 2024 presidential campaign, she sued Donald Trump for civil fraud. Mr. Trump, then a candidate, was accused of overstating the value of his real estate holdings to secure more favorable loan terms. He was found liable, but the judgment against him was thrown out on appeal.
The highest-ranking law enforcement officer in New York was engaged in a personal vendetta against the once and future president — just what she is doing in the case of the Cornell Seven.
It is hard to imagine an investigator more biased than New York’s attorney general — although the Spanish Inquisition does come to mind.
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