MONTICELLO, N.Y. (AP) — Should the New York attorney general’s social media posts condemning an alleged gang rape at Cornell University disqualify her from leading a criminal investigation into the matter?
That’s the question a judge is weighing after hearing arguments Thursday in one accused man’s effort to have Attorney General Letitia James removed from the probe.
The man’s lawyers say James’ posts, made before she took over the case, show she had already made up her mind and believed the woman’s allegations were true. James, had described the allegations as “horrific and unacceptable” and referred to the woman as a “survivor.”
There are “thousands of people in this state — retired judges, mediators, retired law enforcement, other district attorneys’ offices — that could handle this investigation,” the man’s lawyer, Andrew Miltenberg, told reporters as he walked into court.
James, a Democrat, didn’t attend Thursday’s hearing. She has said her investigation will be “guided only by the facts, the evidence, and the law.”
The state’s lawyers sought to put a quick end to the challenge, arguing that New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has wide latitude to appoint special prosecutors and picked James because of her track record handling sensitive cases in the national spotlight.
The former Cornell student, identified in court papers as Jane Doe, filed a lawsuit in September saying several men raped her at a fraternity party in 2024. She said some of the men pressured her into using ketamine that left her too intoxicated to consent.
Judge James R. Farrell didn’t immediately rule, but he pressed state lawyers about Hochul's decision to appoint James, knowing she had commented on social media.
“Is that a problem?” Farrell asked.
Assistant Attorney General Kaitlin Vigars said “there has to be actual prejudice” in order to disqualify James from overseeing the investigation. The man challenging James’ appointment can’t argue he’s been harmed because there are no criminal charges — and might never be, Vigars said.
“You would agree with me,” the judge said, “that it’s not proper for a prosecutor to make those statements?”
When Vigars did not directly answer, he pressed again: “You wouldn’t agree with me?”
Farrell gave the man’s lawyers a week to address why the other men named in the lawsuit hadn’t joined this effort to remove James.
James often comments on news stories on social media. Some posts have criticized people her office later sued, including President Donald Trump and the National Rifle Association.
In the Sept. 28 post at issue at Thursday’s hearing, James linked to a news article about Jane Doe’s lawsuit and wrote: “I’m holding her in my heart and in my prayers. To her, and to all survivors: you’re not alone. We stand with you.”
Hochul appointed James to the case Oct. 1, taking it away from the county district attorney who declined to bring charges in 2024. In her order appointing James, the governor called for an "objective review” without conflict or bias.
Stuart Bernstein, a lawyer for the man fighting James’ appointment, said the attorney general "has shown she is not objective. She has shown that she is biased.”
Within days of James’ appointment, lawyers for two of the men named in Jane Doe‘s lawsuit took legal action seeking to undo it.
The case heard Thursday was filed in the state capital, Albany, and argued in Monticello, where Farrell is based, about 72 miles (116 kilometers) northwest of Manhattan. The other was filed in Ithaca, where Cornell is located, but no arguments have been scheduled.
Farrell asked both sides pointed questions during more than an hour of arguments.
He quizzed the man’s lawyers about whether his ruling should apply to one or all of the civil lawsuit defendants — and whether multiple investigations led by different prosecutors might result.
James had initially declined to comment about her social media posts but addressed them at an Oct. 8 debate in her race against Republican challenger Saritha Komatireddy.
“Those comments demonstrate empathy, and what we need now more than ever in our body politic is more empathy,” James said.
Hochul, she said, assigned her “to analyze this case and to judge it and to do it without bias. She’s requesting an unbiased investigation and a thorough investigation, and we will do that based on the facts and based on the evidence. Politics stops at the door in my office.”
Hochul has said she had no qualms about naming her as special prosecutor.
“I have every confidence in our attorney general to do what she has always done: Look at the facts, examine the record, draw the proper conclusions,” Hochul said Oct. 2 as she announced the special prosecutor appointment.
Andrew Miltenberg, a lawyer for a man being investigated in connection with a gang rape allegation at Cornell University, talks to reporters before entering the Sullivan County courthouse in Monticello, N.Y., Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Andrew Miltenberg, right, and Stuart Bernstein, lawyers for a man being investigated in connection with a gang rape allegation at Cornell University, arrive to the Sullivan County courthouse in Monticello, N.Y., Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
DETROIT (AP) — Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed will campaign Sunday in Detroit alongside former primary rival Rep. Haley Stevens, marking their first public appearance together in months after a week in which lingering divisions spilled into public view.
The two will be joined by South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn, one of the country's most prominent Black politicians, at a get-out-the-vote event at a Detroit church, according to two people familiar with the plans who were not authorized to discuss them publicly.
The joint appearance — their first since a Democratic unity breakfast days after the Aug. 4 primary — comes after weeks of Democrats struggling to unite behind El-Sayed after he defeated Stevens by a razor-thin margin. She received significant support from the Jewish and Black communities, leading to concerns about turnout in the general election.
Tensions again spilled into public view Wednesday when Stevens' fiance, Jason Turkish, told The Detroit News that he would vote for Republican Mike Rogers.
Hours later, Stevens appeared on CNN to reaffirm that she would be voting for El-Sayed, but urged his campaign to “shut out the hate and call it out.”
“Make people who are in my coalition, right, make them feel comfortable about coming to the polls,” said Stevens, who drew significant support from Jewish and Black voters during the primary.
El-Sayed's criticism of Israel, past remarks and associations with controversial streamer Hasan Piker have long drawn concern from some in Michigan's large Jewish community. Turkish and others in the Jewish community have said El-Sayed hasn't done enough to address concerns ahead of the general election.
The latest controversy centered on an ad by Rebellion PAC, an independent left-wing group, that linked U.S. support for Israel to high grocery prices.
“That has nothing to do with our campaign,” El-Sayed said of the ad. “It’s certainly not what I want to be talking about right now.”
Stevens and other Democrats urged him to go further to denounce the content of the advertisement rather than merely distancing himself from it.
Republicans face political challenges of their own, particularly voter dissatisfaction with Trump, the Iran war and high costs. Rogers has remained closely aligned with the president on most issues, appearing alongside him at a Michigan rally Sunday where he credited Trump with bringing manufacturing jobs back to the state.
The rally took place in Port Huron, just across the river from Canada, a country with deep economic ties to Michigan that Trump has targeted with tariffs.
El-Sayed has held campaign events in heavily Republican areas, including Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. His team also released an ad featuring clips of prominent conservative figures praising him, including former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who has faced accusations of antisemitism that he denies.
But the ad created another source of friction with some Jewish voters.
Rabbi Aaron Starr of Congregation Shaarey Zedek in Southfield criticized both the Rebellion PAC ad and El-Sayed’s campaign ad during a call with reporters.
“We are one week away from the election, and it feels like the temperature has turned way up,” Starr said. “Instead of things getting better over the last seven weeks, they’ve actually gotten worse.”
Rogers, meanwhile, appeared Wednesday with Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas at an event hosted by the Republican Jewish Coalition in Birmingham, Michigan. Cruz called antisemitism “a poison that is ripping the country apart” and accused Democrats of being taken over by “self-proclaimed communists and Islamists.”
Trump has repeatedly attacked El-Sayed’s Muslim faith, calling him a “jihadist” and saying Sunday that he was “on the side of terrorists.”
Both candidates are trying to win over Black voters, particularly in Detroit's Wayne County, where Stevens defeated El-Sayed in the Democratic primary.
El-Sayed is expected to campaign Sunday in the Detroit area with Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina, part of an effort to shore up support among Black voters. Much of El-Sayed's final campaign stretch has included events in Detroit aimed at increasing turnout.
Rogers has also sought to make inroads with Black voters. He visited a reading remediation program at a Detroit high school and discussed housing costs with residents in Pontiac, north of the city. Earlier this month, his wife handed out $10 gift cards at a gas station.
The gesture drew criticism from Ruby Farmer, a 68-year-old Detroit retiree.
“You’re giving out gas cards in the inner city, you never would come for any other reason,” Farmer said.
While Farmer has a bit of difficulty pronouncing El-Sayed's name, she cast her ballot for him three weeks ago anyways. El-Sayed has come out in opposition to policies by Trump — policies Farmer says directly impact her family.
“I have a special-needs son,” said Farmer. “He depends on Medicaid. Medicaid has been cut, and for home care workers in Michigan all the benefits are on hold.”
Cappelletti reported from Washington.
President Donald Trump, right, greets Mike Rogers, a Michigan Republican candidate for Senate, on stage during a campaign rally at McMorran Place Sports and Entertainment Center, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026, in Port Huron, Mich. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas greets supporters for Republican nominee for U.S. Senate Mike Rogers during a campaign event Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, in Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Republican nominee for U.S. Senate Mike Rogers greets supporters during a campaign event Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, in Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Former President Barack Obama, center, joined by Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate Abdul El-Sayed, left, and Democratic gubernatorial nominee and Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, right with Secretary of State nominee, Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist, second from right and Attorney General nominee Eli Savit, second from left, clasp hands after a campaign event at Cass Technical High School Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Detroit.(AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed speaks to a crowd during a rally, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026, in Grand Rapids, Mich. (AP Photo/Kristen Norman)
