Judge weighs removing Letitia James from Cornell probe over posts

Judge James R. Farrell takes up a challenge on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026, in Monticello, N.Y., to remove Attorney General Letitia James from a criminal probe of an alleged October 2024 sexual assault at a Cornell fraternity party. District Attorney Matthew Van Houten declined charges in 2024. Gov. Kathy Hochul moved the case to James by executive order on Oct. 1, after Jane Doe filed suit in September 2026. Three days before that order, on Sept. 28, James wrote on X and Facebook that what the young woman endured was horrific and unacceptable and that she stood with survivors. Defense lawyer Andrew Miltenberg says the posts show bias and a presumption of guilt and wants a prosecutor free from actual or perceived conflicts or bias. James' office calls the challenge procedurally defective and substantively meritless. Assistant Attorney General Kaitlin Vigars wrote that speculative claims of harm, premised entirely on mischaracterizing the AG's statements, are insufficient for hardship. Hochul said she has every confidence James will look at the facts, examine the record, and draw the proper conclusions. James declined to discuss the posts at her appointment news conference. She is not expected at the hearing. A second challenge remains pending in Tompkins County.