Donald J. Trump is once again making himself part of a disturbing story—and once again, his sympathy appears to be directed somewhere other than toward the alleged victim.
Trump said Friday that he feels “badly” for the seven men accused of gang-raping a woman at Cornell University after New York Attorney General Letitia James was appointed to oversee the investigation.
James, a longtime Trump nemesis who successfully prosecuted him for falsifying business records, has now taken over the case after Gov. Kathy Hochul said she had lost confidence in local authorities’ handling of it.
Asked about the investigation, Trump attacked James as “corrupt” and said he couldn't imagine the accused receiving a fair shake from her. He later complained on Truth Social about Hochul appointing what he called a “Corrupt Prosecutor” to handle the case.
"Well, Letitia James is a corrupt person," Trump told reporters. "She's totally corrupt, and I can't imagine it. I feel badly for whoever she's looking at because they won't get a fair shake."
The 2024 incident occurred at a Cornell fraternity house, as detailed in a lawsuit filed by the woman, who remains unnamed. The lawsuit states that the bar’s bouncer marked an “X” on each of her hands to signify she was under 21, but she was still served at least one drink inside.
Via CNN:
One of the men allegedly posted in the fraternity’s “Chi Phi Actives” Snapchat group there was “free p*ssy” upstairs – a message the suit says was meant to encourage other members to join in. A photo of a portion of the chat is included in the filing.
Her lawsuit alleges that what started out as a consensual encounter with two fraternity members evolved into lasting hours of sexual abuse after she became intoxicated. Later, she was plied with more alcohol and ketamine before the fraternity members allegedly sexually assaulted her.
The case has elicited widespread attention to how Cornell and local authorities handled her complaint.
Trump had already commented on the case the previous day, saying he trusted Cornell's leadership to “do the right thing.” But in his latest remarks, his focus was on the men accused in the case—and on attacking James—rather than demonstrating concern for the woman who says she was assaulted.
