New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is facing criticism over her appearance in a Netflix documentary about a woman's sexual assault allegations against seven men at Cornell University. Her comments have drawn scrutiny as the case undergoes a renewed investigation. None of the seven men has been criminally charged.
Hochul signed an executive order in October appointing New York Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor to investigate the case. The governor also appears roughly 13 minutes into the newly released documentary, "Instadocs: Jane Doe v. Cornell," in which she describes her reaction to the allegations and discusses concerns about how authorities handled them.
The woman, identified as Jane Doe, brought national attention to her allegations by filing a civil lawsuit against seven members of Cornell's Chi Phi fraternity, the university, her own sorority and other defendants. She alleges that she was drugged and gang raped at a fraternity house in 2024. The lawsuit came nearly two years after she first reported her allegations to local law enforcement.
Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten has defended the earlier assessment of the case. He said several prosecutors and criminal investigators examined Doe's statement and concluded that the facts alleged in it did not constitute a crime. In her documentary interview, Hochul emphasized the importance of public confidence in the process while addressing concerns about law enforcement's response.
Hochul described her initial reaction to the case as disgust and a sense that such allegations were recurring. She also recalled anxiety during her undergraduate years at Syracuse University in the late 1970s, saying a series of rapes occurred during her first week on campus. She criticized what she characterized as an unchanged culture and suggested the number of people involved and the nature of Doe's allegations should have prompted attention from local police.
Donna Rotunno, a criminal defense attorney, Fox News contributor and host of the "Crime and Justice with Donna Rotunno" podcast, argued that Hochul's documentary remarks intensified concerns about the fairness of the prosecution. "The governor can say anything she wants about anything. The question is, should she?" Rotunno said.
Rotunno also questioned why Hochul intervened about two years after the initial report, describing the timing of her concern as suspect. Asked by Fox News Digital why the governor participated in the documentary, a Hochul spokesperson said governors regularly speak with news and media organizations about issues of significant public interest.
