Donald Trump said he feels “badly” for the Cornell 7, who are being investigated by what he called a “corrupt” New York Attorney General Letitia James.
The president criticized “Peekaboo” James, his long-standing and controversial nickname for her, after Governor Kathy Hochul appointed the attorney general as a special prosecutor in the alleged gang-rape case.
On Thursday, Democrat Hochul signed an executive order naming James to oversee the case, in which a woman alleges she was gang raped by seven fraternity members.
Trump, who previously said he believed the university would “do what’s right” in response to the allegations, condemned Hochul’s decision to appoint James on Friday.
In a post on Truth Social, he wrote: “Why would the Governor of New York, Kathy Hochul, appoint a Corrupt Prosecutor, Letitia ‘Peekaboo’ James, to represent the State in the highly controversial Cornell University rape case?”
The nickname has previously prompted allegations of racism from critics, claims Trump has denied.
Asked about the case again on Friday, Trump said James would ensure the defendants did not receive fair treatment, without commenting further on either party involved.
“Well, Letitia James is a corrupt person. She’s totally corrupt and I cannot imagine it, and I feel badly for whoever she’s looking at, because they won’t get a fair shake. Letitia James is a corrupt person.”
Donald Trump criticized New York Governor Kathy Hochul for appointing “corrupt” Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor in the Cornell 7 alleged gang-rape case
James previously filed a civil lawsuit accusing Trump’s business of financial fraud, resulting in a fine of more than $400 million against the president before the penalty was later voided as excessive
Our News Outlet has contacted both Hochul and James for comment.
James previously filed a civil lawsuit alleging financial fraud by Trump’s business. The case led to the president being fined more than $400 million, although the penalty was later voided as excessive.
Last October, James was federally indicted on charges of bank fraud and making false statements. The case was dismissed a month later.
Trump had earlier said he did not “know that much about it,” but described Cornell as a “fine school” and said he was sure it would “do what’s right.”
Hochul said she had “lost faith” in the local investigation as she announced James’s appointment as special prosecutor in the Cornell case.
“New information has raised serious questions about how this case was handled, and I’ve lost faith in the Tompkins County District Attorney’s ability to fairly oversee it,” she said.
“The young woman at the center of this case deserves to know that every fact will be examined and justice pursued.”
Hochul’s decision followed the release of a transcript showing that the alleged victim told Cornell police she was “100 percent” certain she had been assaulted.
Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten said his decision not to charge the seven alleged perpetrators at the time was based on the contents of Jane Doe’s signed 2024 statement.
On Thursday, Democrat Hochul signed an executive order appointing James to oversee the case, in which a woman alleges she was gang raped by seven fraternity members after a previous district attorney declined to bring charges
But he told CBS News on Tuesday he had never before seen the transcript showing what Jane Doe told campus police.
The District Attorney said he will now seek a copy of the transcript and follow up with Cornell police.
‘Nobody knows this information about the transcript and that gives me something to really dig into because that changes the landscape for me,’ he said.
Cornell officials, meanwhile, said its police department provided the results of the school’s investigation to the District Attorney’s Office as prosecutors reconsider whether to bring charges against the alleged rapists.
University officials have also said they agreed to undertake an independent investigation into its handling of the matter.
The case gained renewed attention after Jane Doe filed a civil suit on September 16.
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It alleges that Doe, then 20, arrived at the fraternity house on October 19, 2024, already heavily intoxicated following a night of drinking in Ithaca.
She 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.
Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten has said his decision not to bring charges against the seven alleged perpetrators was based on the contents of Jane Doe’s signed 2024 statement and not what is contained inside a new lawsuit she filed
Hochul said she ‘lost faith’ in the local probe into the Cornell rape case as she announced James’ appointment
The complaint alleges seven men eventually participated and that Doe became ‘completely incapacitated.’ She says the ordeal continued until around 5.45am, when she lost consciousness.
It also claims 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 and seven students that day.
The defendants have not all publicly responded to the allegations but no criminal charges have been filed.
Kretzschmar, Norris and Lopes have now publicly denied participating in the alleged sexual assaults or drug use described in the complaint.
Jeremy Saland, an attorney for defendant Scott Kretzschmar, said the alleged incident ‘did not happen.’
Trump deployed his favorite nickname for James – ‘Peekaboo’ – a moniker which has been criticized as racist although the president denies the claims
‘At bottom, Scott never sexually assaulted or even touched the plaintiff in any way. Period,’ Saland said.
‘We look forward to confronting the plaintiff in a court of law for her selfishly false claims with both the evidence and her own words.’
Defendant Scott Norris separately denied participating in sexual activity or drug use, while acknowledging sending one message cited in the complaint.
‘I did not participate in any sexual activity or drug use,’ Norris said. ‘I thoughtlessly engaged in Snapchat and briefly stopped in the room where misconduct happened but not when it happened.’
In 2024, Ingalls, Newell, Lee and Sarabia acknowledged having sexual contact with the woman but said that their interactions had been consensual. All men denied any wrongdoing during the Title IX investigation.
Cornell previously defended its handling of the situation, insisting it conducted a thorough investigation which resulted in expulsions and the fraternity being barred from campus.
The accuser, only identified in court documents as Jane Doe, spoke with campus police on November 14. Students are pictured walking past Cornell Police headquarters on Wednesday
For Doe, her attorney says the consequences have stretched far beyond the night at the center of the lawsuit.
He has claimed his client continues to suffer from anxiety, depression and sleepless nights and stopped attending Cornell following the alleged attack.
‘She is basically stalled, and her life is devoted to dealing with the trauma,’ Giuffra previously told Our News Outlet. ‘It’s like a constant, constant reminder.’
‘You could give her all the money in the world; nobody wants to have this as their story. Nobody wants to have this in their lives.’
Our News Outlet contacted James and Hochul for comment.
