00:00Last night, I signed an executive order appointing Attorney General Letitia James as Special
00:06Prosecutor in the sexual assault case at Cornell University.
00:10I want New Yorkers to understand what prompted that decision.
00:14Earlier this week, I called on Cornell to conduct an independent investigation led by
00:20outside counsel.
00:22I spoke directly to the university president, who agreed to take those steps.
00:27What we learned yesterday raised even more troubling questions about what was done and
00:33not done after this young woman came forward.
00:37She spoke to the police.
00:39She sat for hours and told them exactly what happened to her.
00:43And according to new reports, she could not have been clearer that she was 100 percent
00:49confident that she had been raped.
00:51Yet, shockingly, those words never made it into the account that the Cornell police sent
00:59to prosecutors.
01:00The Attorney General then declined to pursue charges after reviewing that incomplete account
01:06and never interviewing her.
01:09Think about that.
01:10In what world would the police learn from a victim that she'd been literally gang raped
01:16while intoxicated by five men in a fraternity house and not elevate those allegations to
01:23the district attorney?
01:24In what world does the district attorney not even interview her or anyone else involved or
01:30even request the full transcript?
01:33This woman, this young woman, had already endured something that is utterly unspeakable.
01:41And that at every turn, she was failed by people and institutions with an obligation to protect
01:47her.
01:48When the Tompkins County District Attorney announced that he was reopening the case, he pointed to
01:54Jane Doe's statement and said it did not establish that a crime had occurred.
01:59But new reporting raises serious questions about the information his office relied upon when
02:05it made that decision.
02:06And that's why I believe this case demands a special prosecutor who will provide a fresh
02:12and thorough review of all the facts, including the information that has recently come to light.
02:18And that is why I'm invoking the power conferred to me as the governor of the state of New York
02:22to enlist Attorney General James as an independent special prosecutor in this case.
02:28She'll follow the facts.
02:30She'll examine the evidence and go wherever it leads.
02:33And if the evidence supports criminal charges, she will pursue them.
