Below is my column in the New York Post on the Cornell rape case and the appointment of Attorney General Letitia James to investigate the allegations. With Democratic politicians and pundits already pronouncing guilt before any charges, let alone a trial, the appointment of James follows an all-too-familiar pattern in high-profile criminal cases. James previously pronounced the guilt of the students before she was appointed by New York Gov. Hochul as the special prosecutor. James publicly denounced what the accuser had “been forced to endure” and called her case “horrific and unacceptable.” She added that, with “all survivors,” that “we stand with you.” It is a signature of James’s notorious approach to prosecutorial ethics.
Here is the column:
“Seven men drugged and gang raped a 20-year-old woman.” That verdict in the alleged Cornell rape case was delivered by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who has joined a chorus of others in pronouncing the guilt of Cornell students accused of raping a fellow student.
Mind you, not a single witness has testified under oath publicly and not a single charge has been brought. However, guilt is now being collectively declared from the usual figures and outlets who have never been late to mob justice.
Ocasio-Cortez declared, “I want to be clear that the culture of rape, sexual assault, and pedophilia is protected in elite institutions across the United States and including Cornell University in this instance. It has got to stop.”
We have been here before. Twenty years ago, Duke students were accused of gang raping a stripper at a campus party. The media quickly lionized Durham District Attorney Michael B. Nifong as he pandered to the media in portraying the students as personifying a racist rape culture in the United States.
The problem is that, from the start, the facts did not fit the allegations and there was a total lack of forensic evidence to support the claim. Crystal Mangum later admitted that she had lied.
Nifong was disbarred and Mangum, who was still not prosecuted for lying about these students, later went to jail for murder.
All the politicians and pundits who declared the Duke students guilty simply shrugged and moved on to the next scandal, demanding instant, uninformed judgments.
Conflicts in testimony, as are evident in the Cornell case, does not mean that there was no rape. Indeed, this is a stronger case than Duke in my view. However, there is ample reason to withhold judgment until more is known.
Much of what we know comes from a 101-page civil complaint filed by Doe against Cornell, fraternity-related entities, seven individual defendants and other defendants.
The alleged rape occurred on the night of Oct. 19, 2024. Doe admits that she drank heavily at a sorority house and then, despite being underage, drank more at a couple of bars before, around 11 pm, going to the Chi Phi fraternity house to meet a friend. It was there that she claims to have been drugged and gang raped.
The Snapchat messages sent after 1 am from the fraternity brothers are disgusting and horrifying. Frat brothers announce that there was “free” sex with a woman upstairs, and one later asked, “Shop still open?”
Yet the case also includes countervailing statements from the alleged victim herself, including suggestions that the sex with the first couple of men was consensual.
Friends recounted that Doe later laughed about the incident and said, “Oh my goodness, isn’t that crazy?” (Notably, some also added that they believed Doe was still traumatized by the experience and had not fully processed it).
She also later told her sorority “big sister” that “You may hear some rumors about me, and unfortunately they are true.”
On October 22 and 23, Doe exchanged messages with one of the men who expressed regret about “how things went down.” Both said that their memory of what occurred was cloudy because they were intoxicated.
However, she told him “non(e) of the sexual stuff was illegal.” She reportedly added that she liked being with him and another man and wanted to come over and smoke more “but like leave out the extra 5 billion men and ketamine.”
On Oct. 22, Doe did go to Cornell Health and was diagnosed with a urinary tract infection and tested positive for sexually transmitted diseases.
On October 28, Doe reportedly wanted to go to the fraternity’s Halloween party, and her frat friend said she was welcome because “chi phi is your house and you are welcome here.” She responded with “thank u i really appreciate … i’ll bring my cigs tomorrow.”
Later, the president of the fraternity contacted her to rescind the invitation and she responded angrily to her friend that “I knew this was going to happen. The woman will always get the short end of the stick. Yall aren’t my friends. Yall are covering your asses.”
On Nov. 7, Doe did seek a rape kit test (which was not useful after the passage of so much time). The next day, she reported the alleged rape to the Cornell University Police Department.
Cornell then moved quickly that day to suspend the Xi Chapter of Chi Phi and temporarily suspended the seven men later named in her civil lawsuit.
In her later accounts, Doe admitted to heavy drinking and drug use. She also reportedly told investigators that she was okay with the initial sex, adding, “Yeah, as much as I can be because, again, I was super drunk when I got there … But I was pretty OK with all of this.” However, she also said “I can say with 100% confidence I was raped.”
Legally, the extreme intoxication and drug use undermine claims of consent. While she admits that her memory was “super clouded,” it is hard to imagine anyone believing that a student in her condition was capable of giving knowing consent.
However, there are obvious problems with the case, which likely contributed to the decision not to bring criminal charges or make a criminal referral.
In New York, one threshold issue will focus on her voluntarily drinking to excess. Like other states, a mentally incapacitated individual cannot legally consent to sex but there is an exception for those who voluntarily consumed alcohol to the point that they became incapacitated.
Roughly 20 states have the same exception — where an accuser must show that her incapacity by intoxication was involuntary due to being drugged or brought to intoxication without knowledge or consent.
Faced with a prosecutor who had previously declined charges (but was reopening the case), Gov. Hochul condemned the university and played to her base. She promised her own prosecutor.
She then picked the one prosecutor who surpasses Nifong in the Duke case in her reputation for putting politics ahead of prosecutorial integrity: Attorney General Letitia James.
James was elected on a pledge to weaponize the legal system against President Donald Trump, promising that she would prosecute Trump without specifying any crime. She is known as one of the most political prosecutors in the country, using her office to pursue groups and individuals on the right. Former staffers recently condemned her for converting them into “Tish’s personal attorneys … targeting her political enemies.”
Hochul’s appointment of James maximizes the chances of a criminal charge in the case. James has always followed the policy of the Queen of Hearts in “Alice in Wonderland”: “Sentence first, verdict afterward.”
Jonathan Turley is a law professor and the New York Times best-selling author of “Rage and the Republic: The Unfinished Story of the American Revolution.”
These guys were drunk? Did they consent to sex with her? Could we have this backwards?
an Identity-based justice system, what could go wrong?
tish has poor judgement. Just look at who she chooses for mating
She’s running for re-election in our pathetic state so she needs photo ops and talking points to wow her base of ignorant college students, angry black folk and even Angrier White Feminist Urban Liberals.
Those boys at Cornell don’t stand a chance. unless hell freezes over and we elect republicans.
and even Angrier White Feminist Urban conservative wackjobs. There, fixed it.
I am going to attempt to engage in wokespeak, so I would appreciate and feedback from our s@@tlib friends.
Guilt or innocence in this case is not to be determined by the actual facts but by the relative victimhood standing of each party in the world of wokeness.
White males = presumed evil, cause of all or most problems in the world including racism, sexism, homophobia, genocide, etc.
People of Color = source of all good and enlightenment.
White women = victims of the White male patriarchy and are always to be believed, especially if an evil White male is the subject of the accusation. If victim of a presumed virtuous person of color it becomes more complicated who to believe. Depends on their victimhood status.
How did I do s@@tlibs?
antonio
The same problem is going on at hundreds of colleges, and is one ugly outcome of binge drinking “party culture”.
Young adults who are stupor drunk act out in ways that seem hilarious at the time, but are cringeworthy when reconsidered sober. Regretful sexual abandon is particularly humiliating for young women to process afterwards.
I think NYS law is better than many states in placing responsibility equally on men and women who overconsume alcohol and drugs voluntarily. Granted, this approach ignores subtle predatory gaming, for example men encouraging women with lower body weight to participate in drinking games, knowing that they’ll become intoxicated earlier. It’s possible that a jury would weigh predatory conniving even if a defense lawyer insists the law doesn’t allow it.
What makes this area of law treacherous is that intoxication takes place gradually over hours, and impulse control dissolves in parallel. Until the woman passes out, assuming she has not been forcefully restrained, consent at the time is to be assumed.
The law is correct to reject ex-post-facto recalculations of consent.
The best way to handle this is for freshman coeds to receive preparation and training about deviant party culture from older female students. Most sororities provide such “big sister” relationships and coaching. Many colleges have this education as part of orientation.
Get ready, get set, gentlemen start your engines……the Comment-Section Legal Scholar has made his appearance once again
Meet the comment-section legal scholar: part talking-point vending machine, part human-shaped “What About Them?” button.
Present them with an inconvenient fact and, like clockwork, they produce a completely unrelated scandal from 2007. Ask about a double standard, and they’ll explain that standards are only “double” when applied to their side. Mention evidence, and suddenly you’re being asked to contemplate a vast conspiracy that somehow always arrives at their employer’s preferred conclusion.
Their worldview has the reassuring simplicity of a cult brochure: the people paying the bills are invariably principled, the critics are invariably corrupt, and every contradiction is merely evidence of how deeply the conspiracy runs.
It’s less “legal analysis” than corporate karaoke—same talking points, different comment box, performed with the unwavering conviction of someone who has confused a paycheck with a revelation.
Turley is upset that James prejudged the guilt of the accused. How is that different from his Fox-mate Pirro prejudging the guilt of anyone she charges, even when they are innocent (Reflecting Pool…)? It is not as if Pirro waits upon investigation before rushing to the podium to pronounce Trumpian condemnation on all and sundry. Now, if Turley were actually to argue that every single prosecutor in the USA ought to show a little more caution, remember that anyone accused is presumed innocent until proven otherwise, and that politics and elections simply corrupt prosecutions, then maybe he would have a point.
I hope your blunt force head trauma was as painful for you as it has been for us here.
So…Prejudging good?
Why do you go with Trump! all the time? TDS? just asking don’t get mad.
On a scale of 1-10 how TDS are you?
Different? … no alleged rape was involved? Am I close?
Ya, so what? This happens all the time. Remember when Trump declared the guy guilty of vandalizing the reflecting pool based on Trump’s fictional “gash”? Or do all Republicans get a pass in Turley’s book?
Who ties your shoes for you?
so prejudging good in your book. 👍 got it.
The success of whataboutism is complete.
I am disturbed that the focus by the “general public” has been on whether or not she voluntarily consumed drugs. Let us not forget that judgment is poor after any drug use, whether male or female. The idea that consent to 1 or even 2 or 3 suggests willingness to be advertised to the whole group is despicable. Where is your disgust with the behavior that sent such a message, confident that it would be not only well-received but acted upon? That clearly shows a culture which should have died a long time ago. If you have any understanding of psychology, you know there are different reactions to danger – not everyone reacts with a karate stance and fists up. Many react by fawning, especially if they have previously experienced something similar at the hands of someone powerful. As a young woman (many decades ago) I was taught to “just go along” to reduce potential harm – this is just one disgusting belief that has led to a culture thinking it is ok to violate someone as long as they are not viciously fighting back. Do none of you have female relatives or friends? Don’t kid yourself – these days, it can happen to males as well. We have a local case proving just that. What a despicable culture we are in…may Jesus return soon.
I am disturbed……
For once X got something right.
As a young woman (many decades ago)…..
LMAO.
Last week X was a republican, a jew, a husband, married with children, a business owner, an attorney, a nurse practitioner, and a dildo. Only one of these is true
Looks like ole George X left an impression you…. pathological liar.
Would the appointment of a Special Prosecutor in response to a new civil complaint for disputed acts that occurred 2 years ago have even been brought were this not an election year? Both Hochul and James are each running for re-election and are in tight races. Cheered on by AOC, this appears to be a blatant action to bring out the woman vote.
A mother kills her babies, then another mother in NY and then another somewhere else Horrific. Female public opinion says they’re all innocent, hormones made them do it. 20 year old hick from Alabama shows up in NY state, solicits a gang-banged. Two years later blames everyone but herself. And this is female(s) of 2026. Play slut, take no responsibility, accountability, get national attention, cry all the way to the bank.. Waiting on the internet sequel… Gangbang Me.
Gangbang Me… its already been done, “I Slept with 100 Men in One Day”, Lily Phillips of the UK in 2004.
Whatever happened to sanity in women?
Bonnie Blue…thousands.
Whether the now-politicized rape charges will “stick” remains to be seen, but it is clear that all of these young people, including the plaintiff, violated various drug and alcohol laws and basic standards of human behavior and should all be held accountable and, if still at Cornell, immediately be expelled.
What should be a focus of attention, but sadly is not, is the fact that Cornell, like many other “institutions of higher learning” has created this toxic stew of licentiousness and drug culture by its “woke” policies and admissions of students who have no regard for law or principle, and no character. This situation started as early as April 1969 when armed student thugs took over the university student union and the administration of then-President James Perkins capitulated. That was “The Day Cornell Died”, as Thomas Sowell, who was teaching there at the time, has written. It took 57 years, but the chickens have come home to roost.
It is not to be ignored that Governor Hochul is a member of the Cornell Board of Trustees and as such, bears some personal responsibility for the maintenance of this toxic stew.
*Prosecutor* James: The accuser had “been forced to endure.” It was “horrific and unacceptable.” “We [the angry mob] stand with you.”
For “dishonesty, fraud, deceit and misrepresentation,” and for actions and public statements made “to further his political ambitions” — Mike Nifong was disbarred.
Hopefully, James will suffer the same fate.
Although this corruption is NY, not NC. So more likely is that she becomes governor.
Clicking on the hyperlink “101-page civil complaint filed” goes to a story about an unrelated case.
Here is a link to the actual complaint:
https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/doe-cornell-new-york-supreme.pdf
Why is the plaintiff allowed to remain anonymous but the parties she names are public? I read somewhere that one of the men she named has been fired.
Why are the men, who were also intoxicated, being held responsible for their actions but the anonymous plaintiff’s intoxication deems her incapable for consent?
says the troll who has never been with a woman.
says the troll who has only been with men.
Were the men who responded to the group text just laying around drunk waiting or are you assuming all the men were intoxicated?
I assume some of the accused men were intoxicated.
New York is just a corrupt liberal state.
If you are not a card carrying liberal, made up charges will be brought against you. New and novel legal theories will be made up to charge you, like suing a consumer for fraud under the Consumer Protection act. Having the trial in civil court instead of commercial court. A liberal biased judge and jury will be found to convict you. New and novel legal theories will be made up to charge you.
A corrupt and criminal Atty General will prosecute you. And last a corrupt appeals and Supreme court will uphold in all on the legal theory you are guilty until proven innocent, and you will be gagged and given no chance to prove you innocence. Any attempt to proclaim you innocence will be met by another lawsuit for defamation, which you will lose too. You will be given no opportunity to have an alibi because the the crime window will be years, no specific date.
What a great state NY was, it’s all gone now. NY state is a communist state or repression, a woke liberal cesspool.
For starters…the victim plainly did not get the short end of the stick.
She showed willful participation at numerous points down her chosen path of depravity.
Re James and prosecutorial ethics….just as with the victim’s “innocence”….one either has it or not….neither of them do.
Nifong was removed from his District Attorney’s gig and disbarred while his angel of the moment wound up behind bars for murder.
What shall happen to James and Mr. “Doe” and a Governor who failed to do the “right” thing?
This is just another example of why the Democrat Party refuses to defend the truth when it would sound better than promoting the lie they do.
The University of course also comes under the spotlight now….the Fraternity and Sorority involved should both be banned from campus, every student even tangentially involved should be banned, and every other group and organization be harshly warned about legal, social, and moral standards for students.
James must be disbarred and removed from Office, Hochul should be held accountable by the State Legislature, and Federal charges should be filed by the US DOJ for all who have violated the Civil Rights of those being persecuted (yes persecuted rather than prosecuted).
Here is a prototypical example of the Democrats in action. Pretending (for a moment) to support law and order, they’ve focused every effort on a case where information/evidence may have been lost. But that matters nothing at all. Guilty verdict has been decided.
I was rather hoping the Ivy League would choke itself to oblivion by its own mud. With Leticia James on the job, it looks more like a mob hit.
Welcome to America 2026!
Clearly not enough evidence to prove rape beyond a reasonable doubt. Seems muxh more likely she gor drunk and high at a few bars and parties and then went over to the frat for a sex orgy she initiated or willingly agreed to with different groups of young men over several hours. Day later she regretted it when she was disinvited to the next frat party. Her change of mind weeks later does not add up to rape. Her civil case two years later makes assertions at odds with her sworn statements to police and prosecutors three weeks after the night of debaunchery.. Turning this into a criminal case is malicious political prosecution. .
Democrats have their favored “victims” and disfavored “perpetrators”. The disfavored perpetrators must be white and male. The favored victims must be women. Letitia James will bring the prosecutions that are demanded in an election year, truth be damned. James herself has been accused of sexual misconduct, so it’s a typical New York State affair brought to you by one-party mobocracy.
Turley says this is a stronger case than Duke. Fair enough. That’s exactly why process matters more here, not less.
Nobody in this thread knows what happened in that house. Neither does a member of Congress. What we have is a civil complaint, text messages and conflicting statements. That’s raw material for an investigation and potentially a trial, not a verdict.
The presumption of innocence isn’t just a courtroom technicality. It’s a civic habit. Citizens have to practice it before they need it. We have to be capable of hearing terrible allegations and still saying, “I don’t know yet.”
A people that reaches verdicts by press release will eventually get a justice system that does the same. Duke should have taught us that. Twenty years later, same reflex.
If the evidence is there, charge it and prove it. If it isn’t, say so. Either way, the verdict comes last.
Geezzz… great job of summarizing Turley’s column. Got anything original?
They didn’t rape her. She felt embarrassed after the fact and became even more ashamed when it was no longer private.