On Friday, the National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC) filed a complaint with the Attorney Grievance Committee (AGC) against New York Attorney General Letitia James for “violating the Rules of Professional Conduct by making public statements about the Cornell University sexual assault case that exhibits a bias in favor of the victim’s allegations and against the alleged perpetrators.”

James was appointed by Governor Kathy Hochul as Special Prosecutor on October 1, 2026, to investigate the incident. “Jane Doe” alleges in a civil suit filed on September 18, 2026, that she was sexually assaulted and drugged on the evening of October 19-20, 2024, at the Cornell University Chi Phi Fraternity house by seven named defendants, who have denied the allegations.

Several days after the civil suit was filed but before her appointment as Special Prosecutor, on September 28, 2026, Ms. James posted on both her Facebook page and on X the following statement:

What this young woman has been forced to endure is horrific and unacceptable. 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.

From the New York Post:

“Letitia James has exhibited a clear bias in favor of Jane Doe’s allegations and against the Chi Phi defendants,” Paul Kamenar, counsel to the National Legal and Policy Center, told the Post.

“In doing so, she has blatantly violated the ethical rules of professional conduct and cannot serve as a special prosecutor in this case.”

NLPC included with the complaint an opinion by legal ethics expert Jack Marshall that concluded:

In my expert opinion as a legal ethicist, Attorney General Letitia James has a serious and incurable conflict of interest…Therefore, she is ethically and legally obligated to recuse as Special Counsel in the Cornell gang rape allegation case. If she does not recuse, she must be removed.

NLPC Counsel Paul Kamenar, who drafted the complaint, observed that, “Letitia James runs the real risk of being disqualified in any criminal case she might bring and thus suffer the same fate as prosecutor Fanni Willis in the Georgia election case against Trump.”

Click here for complaint.

Click here for Jack Marshall opinion.

NLPC has filed a series of bar complaints, including against Roberta Kaplan, who is E. Jean Carroll’s attorney, and Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY).