{
  "id": 18426361,
  "title": "4 Cornell lawsuit defendants join effort to oust Letitia James from criminal investigation",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/06/4-cornell-lawsuit-defendants-join-effort-to-oust-letitia-james-from-18426361",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-06T02:52:04.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Korea Times",
    "slug": "the-korea-times",
    "url": "https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/world/20261106/4-cornell-lawsuit-defendants-join-effort-to-oust-letitia-james-from-criminal-investigation"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Four individuals named in a lawsuit stemming from allegations of gang rape at Cornell University are joining a co-defendant's attempt to prevent New York Attorney General Letitia James from overseeing a renewed criminal probe into the accusations, according to court documents released on Thursday. Their legal representatives disclosed that the men consented to being included in a petition submitted to the court, requesting the removal of Attorney General Letitia James from the case. This request stems from James' previous social media comments where she criticized the alleged assault and showed support for the accuser before taking part in the investigation.\n\nThe development occurred just a day after James appointed Jacqueline Kelly, a former federal prosecutor renowned for handling sex crimes cases against music mogul Sean 'Diddy' Combs, as an outside counsel for the investigation. She, along with a team of lawyers and investigators, will be tasked with conducting evidence collection, conducting witness interviews, and performing other investigative duties, all under the supervision of James. A judge held a hearing on one of the accused men's request to exclude James from the case earlier in the week, but ruled against doing so until determining if the six additional defendants in the lawsuit would also like to remove her.",
  "summary": "NEW YORK — Four men named in a former Cornell University student’s lawsuit are joining a co-defendant’s effort to block New York’s attorney general from leading a reopened criminal investigation into the woman’s gang rape allegations, according to court filings on Thursday. The co-defendant’s lawyers said the men agreed to be added to a court petition that seeks Attorney General Letitia James'…",
  "key_points": [
    "Four Cornell defendants join lawsuit to remove Letitia James from criminal probe.",
    "Co-defendant seeks to exclude James due to her prior criticism of assault.",
    "James appointed new outside counsel, Jacqueline Kelly, for investigation."
  ],
  "editors_take": "The unified legal challenge against the Attorney General signals a strategic effort by the accused to disqualify oversight based on perceived bias regarding the underlying allegations.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Winnipeg Free Press",
        "title": "4 Cornell lawsuit defendants join effort to oust Letitia James from criminal investigation",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/06/4-cornell-lawsuit-defendants-join-effort-to-oust-letitia-james-from",
        "published": "2026-11-06T01:30:35.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}