Four more men named in a Cornell University sexual assault lawsuit have joined a court push to take New York Attorney General Letitia James off the reopened criminal investigation.

The move widens a fight over whether James can stay in charge after she posted support for the woman who reported the alleged assault. That post went up before Gov. Kathy Hochul named James special prosecutor.

Andrew Miltenberg, the lawyer for the man who first sought her removal, says James' earlier comments raise doubts about a fair review. James' office declined to comment on the expanded petition.

Outside counsel still reports to James

On Nov. 4 James named Jacqueline Kelly as outside counsel to run the investigative work. Kelly is a former federal prosecutor who now practices at Boies Schiller Flexner and earlier led the Civil Rights Unit inside the Southern District of New York's criminal division.

Her team is set to review records, gather evidence, interview witnesses and weigh the law. Defense lawyers stress that Kelly still answers to James, so they say the appointment does not settle the bias claim.

Judge invited the other defendants to weigh in

A judge gave the other six men named in the civil case a chance to say whether they backed the removal request. Four have now joined. The remaining two did not respond, according to court papers cited by the Associated Press.

The filing argues James' public statements before her appointment undercut her ability to handle the matter with a clear eye. Miltenberg has said bringing in outside counsel changes the structure but does not shift final authority away from the attorney general.

How the case reached James

The civil suit was filed in September by a former Cornell student identified as Jane Doe. She says several men sexually assaulted her at a fraternity gathering in October 2024 and that some of them pressed her to take ketamine and marijuana while alcohol left her unable to consent. Court papers note that not every man listed faces a personal rape allegation.

Prosecutors had not charged anyone when the first probe wound down. The Tompkins County district attorney later reopened the criminal inquiry after the civil case brought fresh attention. On Oct. 1 Hochul put James in charge as special prosecutor, saying she no longer trusted the local handling of the matter.

James has described her earlier social media remarks as empathy for survivors. She defended that stance in an Oct. 8 debate. The judge's ruling on the growing petition will decide whether she keeps oversight or the case needs a different supervisory setup.