Attorneys representing Winston Lee, one of seven men accused in a sexual assault lawsuit filed by a Cornell University student, filed a motion Friday in criminal court in Tompkins County seeking to disqualify New York Attorney General Letitia James from any criminal investigation into the allegations. The motion was filed by attorneys Teny Geragos, Marc Agnifilo, and Jacob Kaplan and asks the court to preclude James from conducting an investigation into whether former Chi Phi fraternity members engaged in sexual assault in October 2024.
Lee's legal team argues that James prejudged the case through social media posts made before her appointment as special prosecutor. In a Sept. 28 post on social media platform X, James wrote: "What this young woman has been forced to endure is horrific and unacceptable. To her and all other survivors: You're not alone. We stand with you." Governor Kathy Hochul appointed James as special prosecutor on Oct. 1. According to the motion, these statements show that James has already accepted a central factual premise of the allegations and is therefore unfit to conduct an impartial investigation.
This filing follows a separate legal effort by attorneys for Gillio Lopes, another defendant in the case, who filed a civil court motion earlier this week seeking James' removal. An Oct. 29 hearing has been scheduled in Lopes' case for James' office to argue that her appointment should not be voided. Andrew Miltenberg, the attorney representing Lopes, stated: "The public needs confidence that the person directing this investigation will evaluate the evidence with an open mind."
Miltenberg and Geragos argue that while compassion toward accusers is appropriate, James' statements crossed a line by appearing to accept facts in dispute before conducting an independent review. "My issue is not political, and it is not personal," Miltenberg said, emphasizing that the concern centers on the appearance of bias rather than an accusation that James is corrupt or acting in bad faith. He has called on James to "voluntarily recuse herself" to remove doubt about the investigation's independence.
The civil lawsuit was filed last month by a former Cornell student identified as Jane Doe against seven fraternity members, Cornell University, the Chi Phi fraternity, and her sorority. The lawsuit alleges that Lee and Lopes, among others, engaged in sexual assault and used drugs. Both Lee's and Lopes' attorneys state their clients deny the accusations. None of the men named has been criminally charged.
Prior to James' appointment, Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten reviewed the case and found that Jane Doe had not described a prosecutable crime in a statement provided to police in November 2024, ruling out the possibility of charges. Van Houten has vowed to present evidence to a grand jury before James' office takes over the probe. Jane Doe told police that she engaged in what began as a consensual encounter but said events "spiraled" as she became increasingly incapacitated.
A spokesperson for James' office responded to the recusal request, stating: "In this and every investigation, the Office of the Attorney General is committed to conducting a comprehensive review of nothing but the facts, the evidence, and the law." James declined to comment on her social media post when asked about it at a news conference announcing her appointment. Cornell University has said it welcomes new investigations into the case.
