Judge Hears Bid to Remove Letitia James From Cornell Assault Probe as Pressure on University Grows

A Sullivan County judge heard oral arguments Thursday in Monticello, New York, on whether Attorney General Letitia James should be removed as special prosecutor in the reopened criminal investigation into an alleged gang rape at Cornell University. Judge James Farrell ended the session without a ruling. Defense attorney Andrew Miltenberg filed the challenge for Gillio Lopes, one of seven former Chi Phi fraternity members accused in a lawsuit of drugging and raping a female student at their house in October 2024. Miltenberg argued that social media comments James posted before her appointment show bias and a presumption of guilt. The judge questioned the lawyers sharply. Also Thursday, Gov. Kathy Hochul said state police will take over future sexual assault investigations at Cornell, and faculty began a non-binding no-confidence vote on president Michael Kotlikoff, running until November 6. The university earlier shut down the fraternity and suspended the men, two of whom were later expelled.

Fox News, on the right, frames the story as a courtroom confrontation. Its headline says the judge grilled the attorney general's office and calls Lopes an ex-frat bro. It leads with Miltenberg's bias argument and James's social media posts, and it quotes James calling what the woman endured horrific. CNN, on the left, also leads with the hearing and the judge's pointed questioning, but its headline says the judge questioned lawyers generally, not the AG's office. It describes Lopes as an accused student hoping to persuade the judge that James is biased. Both agree on the hearing and the bias claim. Al Jazeera and Reuters, in contrast, skip the hearing and cover the faculty no-confidence vote, Paul Ortiz's tip-of-the-iceberg remark and the state police takeover.