NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani Backs Hochul’s Appointment of Letitia James as Special Prosecutor in Cornell Sexual Assault Case

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has expressed support for Governor Kathy Hochul’s decision to appoint New York Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor in the investigation into alleged sexual assault at Cornell University.

The case involves a former Cornell student, identified in court documents as Jane Doe, who alleges that she was sexually assaulted by members of the Chi Phi fraternity in October 2024. The allegations resurfaced publicly after she filed a civil lawsuit in September 2026 against seven men, Cornell University, the fraternity and others.

Mamdani addressed the controversy on social media, describing the allegations as deeply disturbing and saying that Cornell had failed the survivor. He said he supported Hochul’s decision to place James in charge of the criminal investigation and called for accountability.

The governor announced James’ appointment after raising concerns about how the original investigation was handled by Cornell University Police and the Tompkins County District Attorney’s Office. Hochul said newly released information had undermined her confidence in the local prosecutor’s ability to handle the case.

The original investigation was closed without criminal charges in 2024. Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten later reopened the investigation after the allegations became public again through the civil lawsuit. He has said his office relied on information supplied by Cornell police and did not independently investigate the allegations at the time.

Hochul has particularly questioned why the district attorney’s office did not interview the accuser or obtain the complete transcript of her interview with Cornell police before deciding whether to prosecute. She has also criticized the information that was initially forwarded by university police.

James has now taken responsibility for the criminal investigation. Her office said the investigation would be guided by the facts and the law, with investigators reviewing evidence and interviewing witnesses. If warranted, prosecutors could pursue criminal charges and present evidence to a grand jury.

“This is now an active criminal investigation,” James said at a news conference, emphasizing that New Yorkers who report crimes should expect their allegations to be investigated fully and fairly.

Cornell University has also supported the appointment of a special prosecutor and agreed to an independent external review of how the university handled the allegations. The university has previously said that disciplinary action was taken against some students and that the Chi Phi fraternity was suspended indefinitely, although it has not released specific disciplinary details because of student privacy concerns.

Attorneys representing some of the accused men have denied that their clients committed sexual assault. The allegations remain under investigation, and no conclusion about criminal responsibility has been reached.

For Mamdani, the case represents a broader demand for accountability in the handling of sexual-assault allegations. His support for James’ appointment places him among the New York officials calling for a more extensive examination of what happened in 2024 and how the subsequent investigation was conducted.

James has said that a comprehensive investigation will take time. The next phase is expected to focus on reviewing the evidence, interviewing witnesses and determining whether criminal charges are supported by the facts and applicable New York law.