Kathy Hochul Takes the Cornell Fraternity Rape Case Away From the Local DA and Hands It to Letitia James — "At Every Turn, She Was Failed by People and Institutions With an Obligation to Protect Her" — While Trump Says He Feels "Badly for Whoever She's Looking At Because They Won't Get a Fair Shake"
A former Cornell University student says she was drugged and raped by seven men at the Chi Phi fraternity house in Ithaca in October 2024. Cornell expelled two of the students and gave others suspensions or lesser sanctions, and the Tompkins County District Attorney, Matthew Van Houten, declined to prosecute, citing insufficient evidence. Reporting later showed that the woman's statement to campus police that she was "100%" certain she had been raped was not in the police report sent to prosecutors. On Oct. 2, 2026, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced an executive order appointing Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor, saying the woman had been "failed by people and institutions with an obligation to protect her" and asking why the district attorney never interviewed her. James said her office would "review the facts, gather evidence, interview witnesses and, if warranted, pursue prosecutions." Van Houten said he supported the appointment and that his office "was not provided the full picture by the University." President Trump — whom James sued for civil fraud in 2022 — attacked the choice, calling James "totally corrupt" and saying he felt "badly for whoever she's looking at."
“[To reporters before leaving the White House for Alabama:] Well, Letitia James is a corrupt person. She's totally corrupt and I can't imagine it. I feel badly for whoever she's looking at because they won't get a fair shake. [On Truth Social:] 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?”