Cornell 7 frat brother Gillio Lopes' legal team is slamming New York Attorney General Letitia James over her explanation for why she called Jane Doe a survivor ... TMZ has learned.
In new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Lopes' attorneys rejected James' characterization of her remarks as "mere empathy" ... and argued that declaring Jane Doe's account to be true before being appointed as special prosecutor seriously undermines her ability to perform an unbiased investigation.
We reported earlier ... James wrote on social media before being tapped to oversee the investigation ... "What this young woman has been forced to endure is horrific and unacceptable. I'm holding her in my heart and in my prayers. To her, and to all survivors: you're not alone. We stand with you."
Lopes' legal team says that by referring to Jane Doe as a survivor, James has compromised the fairness of the probe.
One of the accused Cornell 7, Diego Sarabia, is seeking to be dismissed from Jane Doe's sexual assault lawsuit ... arguing that the claims against him boil down to a "forced kiss."
Sarabia's attorneys deny the allegations against him, and argued that even if they were true, the claims are legally insufficient, filed past the deadline -- or both ... NBC News reported.
An attorney for Sarabia -- who is accused of forcibly kissing and snorting ketamine off Jane Doe's body -- claimed this is "essentially a lawsuit about a forced kiss."
Letitia James is pushing back on claims that she's biased against the Cornell 7 ... telling a judge she posted about the alleged victim out of empathy -- but she still can investigate without any prejudice against the accused men.
The New York Attorney General filed a letter along with NY Governor Kathy Hochul, in response to an ethics complaint filed against her.
Gillio Lopes -- one of the people accused in Jane Doe's lawsuit -- filed docs trying to get her dismissed from the investigation and replaced with someone else ... but James claims she was just expressing empathy ... not actually supporting the alleged victim -- and she also says that Lopes has no standing to question her appointment because he hasn't even been charged with a crime and it's entirely speculative that he ever will.
Jane Doehas been granted permission from the court to continue with her lawsuit under her pseudonym.
According to the court order, Judge Phaedra Perry-Bond approved her motion to keep her identity anonymous as the case proceeds.
🚨🚨And…a NEW Court Order from the Judge: “PROCEED USING PSEUDONYM”
Judge Phaedra Perry-Bond has granted permission for Jane Doe to continue her lawsuit anonymously and issued a warning about online harassment. The judge warned that cyberstalking and threats across state lines, whether targeting Doe, the defendants or their attorneys, could lead to FEDERAL CRIMINAL CHARGES. She also suggested expanding privacy protections to the named defendants and potential witnesses. None of the defendants opposed Doe's request for anonymity.
@conlin_lauren
In the order, the judge also warned that anyone cyberstalking or harassing anyone involved in the case -- whether that’s Jane Doe, the frat bros she’s accused of raping her, or their attorneys ... could face federal charges.
A former Cornell fraternity president has been dropped from Jane Doe's civil lawsuit over her alleged gang rape at the Chi Phi frat house in October 2024 ... TMZ has confirmed.
According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, all the parties agreed to drop Orazio Petito from the lawsuit ... and he can't be added back in.
Petito was not among the seven fraternity brothers accused of raping and drugging Doe.
He was included in the lawsuit because Doe claimed he was responsible for supervising and maintaining a safe condition for the chapter's fraternity house and its members.
Someone's leaking information about Jane Doe's case against the Cornell 7 ... her lawyer thinks Mark Geragos is the culprit, but Geragos came out swinging on the latest "2 Angry Men" podcast.
Jane Doe's lawyer, Thomas Giuffra, filed legal docs this week opposing a proposed gag order in the case, arguing he's only gone public to react to negative stories about his client.
He's also pointing the finger at Geragos, claiming he's been leaking defense info to TMZ like a sieve ... postulating his daughter Teny -- who reps one of the Cornell 7 -- is funneling info to her dad and he's passing it along. Teny has already called BS, but Mark hasn't addressed the claim ... until now.
Check out "2 Angry Men" ... Harvey and Mark challenge Giuffra on several counts, including his claim he only goes on TV to react to negative stories against his client.
A New York judge is putting one of the Cornell 7 defendants and his lawyers on blast ... saying they're stirring up media drama.
According to court docs, obtained by TMZ, Judge Phaedra Perry-Bond shot down Diego Sarabia's attempt to limit what attorneys and others involved in the case can say publicly about the explosive gang rape lawsuit ... with the judge saying his legal team didn't come close to making a convincing argument.
The judge says simply expressing opinions about the case isn't enough to take away someone's right to free speech ... and Sarabia's lawyers didn't give her a good enough reason to step in.
Jane Doe's attorney worked with a newspaper before he ever filed her explosive lawsuit accusing the Cornell 7 of gang rape ... at least according to Diego Sarabia's lawyers.
In new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Sarabia's defense attorneys claim Doe's lawyer, Thomas Giuffra, never denied coordinating with The Cornell Daily Sun before the lawsuit was filed in court.
James Knox and Alishah Bhimani, who are representing Sarabia, also take issue with Giuffra's claim that defense attorneys representing defendants in Doe's civil suit have been leaking documents to the media that are favorable to their clients.
Jane Doe's attorney is a massive hypocrite for claiming lawyers for the Cornell 7 are leaking documents to the media to make their clients look good ... at least according to Gillio Lopes' lawyer.
Andrew Miltenberg fired back at Doe's lawyer, Thomas Giuffra, in a scathing statement to TMZ ... "The hypocrisy in Mr. Giuffra's sudden outrage over defense counsel speaking to the media is astonishing. He spent weeks promoting his client's allegations on television, in newspapers and across the internet, helping turn this case into a national media spectacle before the seven publicly identified defendants had a meaningful opportunity even to review the allegations, much less respond."
Miltenberg's return volley comes after Giuffra filed legal docs claiming his media appearances were kosher and the defense attorneys were leaking like a sieve. Giuffra name-dropped TMZ and highlighted our relationship with Mark Geragos.
8:26 AM PT --Winston Lee's lawyer, Teny Geragos, tells TMZ ... "To the extent Mr. Giuffra is implying I’m leaking anything, that is false. But, the facts will come out and they will show my client did not assault or harm this person.”
Jane Doe's lawyer claims lawyers for the defendants in her lawsuit are the ones leaking documents to the press ... and he's name-checking us in the new filing.
Thomas Giuffra filed the legal letter Wednesday asking a judge not to enter a broad order restricting both sides from speaking about the case in the media ... insisting that, while the Cornell 7 have been on a coordinated media blitz, he's just been reacting to the fervor around the case.
In the documents, Giuffra claims it's the lawyers for the so-called Cornell 7 leaking documents to the press ... and, at one point, he highlights TMZ's relationship with Mark Geragos -- implying he's been carrying the water for the defense's position and getting information out through TMZ.
The Federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is investigating who supplied ketamine at the Cornell frat party where Jane Doe claims she was raped.
Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... the DEA is working with local law enforcement to hunt down the source of the drug.
As we reported, there was significant ketamine use at the party. There is evidence some of the frat brothers snorted ketamine off Jane Doe's body, and she also said in text messages she snorted ketamine off one of the frat brothers.
Dr. Michael Kotlikoff -- the president of Cornell University -- is personally apologizing to Jane Doe for her experience at the Ivy League school ... and it sounds like he won't resign.
The New York Times sat down with Kotlikoff for a wide-ranging interview, and he said he was "personally sorry" for everything Doe says she experienced when she was enrolled at Cornell.
While he's deeply sorry, the interview also revealed just how in the dark Kotlikoff says he was about the original investigation into her sexual assault claims ... he says he didn't read hundreds of pages of confidential records put together during the Title IX investigation out of respect for students' privacy.
Cornell is under fire for allegedly doling out soft punishments for students accused of sexual misconduct ... expelling a very small portion of students found responsible for sexual assault in the years before Jane Doe claimed she was gang raped at a frat party.
Here's the deal ... CNN reviewed school records and data released by the Ivy League university and found 51 formal complaints about sexual assault were filed between mid-2020 and mid-2024. Jane claims she was sexually assaulted in October 2024.
The outlet notes students were found responsible in 16 of the 51 cases ... and only two were expelled.
Cornell University is putting the brakes on fraternity parties for the rest of the school year ... and its president is admitting there's a serious drug and alcohol problem on campus.
In a letter to the campus community Tuesday, Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff announced all parties and social events inside Interfraternity Council houses are suspended for the remainder of the 2026-2027 academic year ... following explosive allegations surrounding an alleged 2024 gang rape.
Jane Doe was coherent when she was in a room at the Chi Phi fraternity house with several other men ... and she didn't look to be in distress when she exited that same room with several frat bros hours later ... at least according to two Cornell students who say they were there.
TMZ obtained transcripts of interviews with two witnesses who say they saw Doe at the October 2024 frat party. One witness is a fraternity brother who says he lived in the room where Doe claims she was raped, and the other was his girlfriend.
The frat bro, who is not a defendant in Doe's civil suit, talked to cops on November 21st. Doe went to CUPD November 8th and gave her sworn statement on November 14th.
Jane Doe's state of inebriation could prove critical in determining if she had the ability to consent to sex at the Chi Phi fraternity in 2024 ... and some of the men she's accusing of rape pointed to a text exchange to show she was not out of it.
TMZ has obtained a text exchange that was part of the Cornell University disciplinary hearing, and sources with knowledge tell us ... at least one of the accused claims it shows Jane Doe was not incapacitated.
One text message is from one of Jane's roommates at 3:05 AM, as the fraternity party was still in full swing. It reads, "You coming home tn (tonight)?" Jane's answer -- "idk" (I don't know).
