N.Y. AG James files opposition to effort to bar her from Cornell investigation

New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a response Thursday opposing an effort to bar her from acting as special prosecutor in the Cornell University rape investigation over claims of political bias.

James said in a court filing that the petition to remove her as special prosecutor relies on claims that “are not justiciable.”

An attorney for Gillio Lopes, one of seven men sued over allegations that a woman was raped at a Cornell fraternity house, filed a petition this month arguing that James “unequivocally demonstrated a bias and presumption of guilt.”

James wrote in the response that there is no standing, that even if there were the court should reject it and that the governor has the power to appoint a special prosecutor.

“Petitioner asks this Court to impermissibly void a discretionary action by the Governor,” James wrote in the filing opposing the petition filed by Lopes’ attorney.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, appointed James as special prosecutor in the investigation of the Cornell case on Oct. 1.

Hochul cited concerns about how university police and the local district attorney’s office handled the woman’s allegations of sexual assault in 2024.

The woman alleged in a lawsuit that…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/health