Fact Check: Did Letitia James indict President Trump in the Cornell University case?
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Amid the reopening of the investigation surrounding the Cornell University assault case, a rumor began circulating on social media platforms claiming that Attorney General Letitia James, who is investigating the case, has indicted President Donald Trump. The claim has sparked surprise and speculation from online users, who are calling for a fact-check.
Claim: Letitia James indicts Donald Trump in Cornell case
According to a viral X post, immediately following her appointment as a special prosecutor to investigate the alleged assault of a female student, AG James announced that she was indicting Trump in the Cornell case.
"I know he's to blame somehow," James allegedly told the media when announcing the indictment.
"Though he was not present at the time of the incident, has no connection to Cornell University, and was not named by anyone involved, I'm absolutely sure he's the one behind all of it. Justice will be served. As long as it's against Trump."
"We have unfinished business," she told reporters according to the post. "And by ‘unfinished business,' I mean I haven't been able to send him to prison, no matter how much stuff I try to make up out of thin air. But I will not quit until I get Trump behind bars for something he didn't do."
Fact Check: The claim originated as satire
However, the claim is false and baseless, as there is no evidence of AG James indicting Trump in the Cornell case.
There are also no records of James making the above-mentioned quote, and it is hence fabricated.
If the claim were true and James made such a statement, prominent media outlets would have widely covered it, making headlines, but a search on Google for the claim yielded no credible news reports.
Additionally, the claim originated from a popular parody account called ‘The Babylon Bee,’ which describes itself in the bio as ‘fake news.’
Donald Trump slams Letitia James over Cornell case
The claim surfaced after New York Governor Kathy Hochul appointed AG James as a special prosecutor to investigate an alleged gang r*pe at Cornell University.
Following this, President Trump on Friday decried Hochul’s decision to have James, who he claimed was “corrupt”, oversee the “highly controversial” case.
“Letitia James is a corrupt person,” Trump told reporters while speaking on the South Lawn.
“She’s totally corrupt, and I can’t imagine it. And I feel badly for whoever she’s looking at because they won’t get a fair shake. Letitia James is a corrupt person.”
