Trump Calls Letitia James Corrupt, Doubts Fairness in Cornell Assault Probe

Q: What hidden evidence in the Cornell assault case forced a special prosecutor to take over from the local district attorney?

The key hidden evidence appears to have been material the local district attorney said was never fully reviewed when prosecutors first declined charges: a transcript of the complainant’s 2024 campus police interview in which she reportedly said she was “100% certain” she had been raped, along with other internal records and social media evidence that did not make it into the initial package the DA says he received. Reporting cited in the case indicates Tompkins County prosecutors may have been given only the woman’s six-page sworn statement and a Snapchat screenshot, not the full Cornell police file. That fuller record reportedly included the interview transcript, additional witness material, and Snapchat messages from the fraternity chat suggesting men were being invited upstairs during the alleged assault, including the “free pussy” message described in the civil suit. Gov. Kathy Hochul said “new information” had raised serious concerns about how the case was handled and had undermined confidence in the district attorney’s office, prompting her to appoint Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor. So, the trigger was not one single newly discovered item alone, but the emergence of evidence suggesting the original prosecutorial review may have been based on an incomplete record — especially the unrevealed interview transcript and broader digital evidence from the night of the alleged assault.

3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Oct 2

Trump said defendants in the Cornell sex-assault investigation would not get “a fair shake” from New York Attorney General Letitia James, whom he called “a corrupt person.”
His remarks came a day after Gov. Kathy Hochul appointed James as special prosecutor in the case and after Trump had said he did not know much about the matter.
The attack revives Trump’s long-running clash with James, who sued him and his family for fraud during her 2022 re-election campaign.
James’s office did not immediately respond, and Trump’s comments inject national political conflict into a high-profile state investigation.