What the so-called "Cornell 7" case needed was a serious investigator who would carefully sort through the conflicting claims, including claims made by the alleged victim which seem to contradict some of her own statements. What it got instead was Gov. Kathy Hochul and DA Letitia James, both of whom have clearly already made up their minds about the case.
Gov. Hochul, in appointing James to investigate, made it clear that no investigation was really necessary because she already knows what happened.
The Cornell rape accuser was "failed" by people obligated to protect her, including police and the prosecutor, New York Governor Kathy Hochul said at a news conference on Friday.
A visibly outraged Hochul blasted Cornell University Police, the Tompkins County District Attorney and the state's rape laws before introducing Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor in the controversial case
James told a packed news conference at the governors office that this is now "an active criminal investigation." She pledged a full and fair investigation...
"I am deeply disturbed by Cornell University's police and how they handled this," Hochul said. She said sending a "partial record" to the district attorney was a failure...
"In what world would the police learn from the victim that she had been literally been gang raped" and that she believed "100%" she had been raped and not elevate those allegations, Hochul said.
It's entirely possible that the campus police screwed up here. But as I pointed out here, the victim in this case did say in her initial interview that she agreed to a threesome with two other men and seems to have indicated she was okay with that even three weeks later. She also did say that at least two of the men who entered the room were observing not participating. And she did say that she had had a lot to drink and taken drugs, seemingly of her own volition.
Maybe the summary the campus police passed on to the local DA was wrong. Reports published yesterday indicate it did not include Jane Doe's statement that what happened to her was "definitely rape." That does seem like a significant oversight. But if so, that's the fault of the campus cops and Jane Doe herself. She read over the summary, made several changes and literally signed off on it before it was sent to the DA. This is not a case where the police were trying to mitigate her statement without her knowledge, at least there's no evidence of that so far.
As for Letitia James, we already know how she operates: Conclusions first, evidence later if at all. That's how she ran her campaign for AG in 2018, promising to get President Trump long before she came up with any charges.
When Letitia James ran for New York attorney general in 2018, one of her promises was to sue Donald Trump. She called him an “illegitimate president.” She suggested that he could be criminally charged with obstruction of justice.
She said that her decision to seek office was largely “about that man in the White House who can’t go a day without threatening our fundamental rights.”
“Nobody is above the law,” she wrote on social media, promising that she would “hold those in power accountable.”...
In her victory speech in Brooklyn, she vowed to continue the scrutiny into Mr. Trump started by her predecessors.
And here we go again, because James already issued her verdict on the Cornell 7 case three days ago from her official AG Facebook account.
James was asked about putting the cart before the horse (again) and brushed it off.
Reporter: "Attorney General, on your Facebook page three days ago, you wrote, ‘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 to all survivors, you're not alone. We stand with you.’ Why did… pic.twitter.com/AtHcuaPumE
— RedWave Press (@RedWavePress) October 2, 2026
To be clear, it seems obvious to me that some kind of investigation is needed here to sort out what happened and why. But appointing a woman who has clearly already made up her mind to investigate doesn't seem like a great way to restore faith in the legal process. This seems more like an attempt to grandstand and railroad everyone involved in this case toward a conclusion that will please the mob who've also already made up their minds. That may make for good headlines but it's not justice.
Editor’s Note: The American people overwhelmingly support President Trump’s law and order agenda.
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