The attorney representing one of the former Cornell University Chi Phi fraternity members named in a high-profile sexual abuse lawsuit is questioning New York Attorney General Letitia James’ appointment as an independent prosecutor. He raised concerns after James allegedly appeared to take a position in the case publicly before reviewing 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.”
Miltenberg specifically criticized a Sept. 28 post from James’ official X account in which she told Doe, “We stand with you,” while referring to her as a “survivor” before James’ office became involved in the investigation.
Letitia James, New York’s attorney general, speaks outside federal court in Norfolk, Va., on Friday, Oct. 24, 2025. (Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“What this young woman has been forced to endure is horrific and unacceptable,” James wrote alongside 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.”
On Oct. 1, Gov. Kathy Hochul appointed James’ office to serve as special prosecutor in a new investigation.
James later said in a follow-up post that her office would conduct the inquiry “fully and fairly.”
The fraternity house at the center of a rape allegation from a former Cornell student identified as “Jane Doe” stands on the campus of Cornell University on October 7, 2026, in Ithaca, New York. (Ryan Murphy/Getty Images)
“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,” Miltenberg said. “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.”
In his view, James “has to answer” for the social media post and could resolve the concern by “gracefully” withdrawing from the investigation.
Legal analyst Mehek Cooke, speaking Thursday morning on “Fox & Friends,” described James’ appointment as “unprofessional” and “a violation of professional responsibility,” citing the language used in her social media statement.
Thousands of Cornell University students and others from the Cornell community fill Ho Plaza for the Justice for Survivors protest hosted by twenty student organizations Monday, Oct. 5, 2026. (Matt Burkhartt/For The Washington Post via Getty Images)
“Imagine being on the other side,” Cooke said. “Imagine having to defend yourself when you have the lead prosecutor who is saying she ‘stands with’ Jane Doe.”
Cooke is urging James to recuse herself and allow federal prosecutors to take over the case.
Students protest on Ho Plaza at Cornell University on Monday, Oct. 5, 2026, in Ithaca, N.Y., in response to an alleged sexual assault in 2024 involving members of the Chi Phi fraternity. (Richard Beetham for Fox News Dig)
Miltenberg, a New York attorney who focuses on Title IX and civil rights matters, said he represents a former Chi Phi member who remains enrolled at Cornell after completing a one-year suspension.
Miltenberg said Doe kissed his client first and that his client did not see her consume alcohol or use drugs.
“He was 50% of that consent, and she was 50% of that consent,” he said. “They had a mutual sexual interaction, mutually consented to.”
New York Governor Kathy Hochul and New York Attorney General Letitia James attend a press conference regarding an investigation into alleged sexual assault at Cornell University, in New York City, US, October 2, 2026. (REUTERS/Jeenah Moon)
Miltenberg nevertheless called for a comprehensive investigation, saying the public has seen only a limited portion of the evidence. Even before the case drew renewed attention, the university had conducted a six-month investigation that included dozens of witnesses, nearly two weeks of hearings, a 100-page ruling, appeals and appellate decisions.
“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.
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.
