Friday, October 2, 2026

Trump says he feels 'badly' for accused Cornell students

At a moment when Donald Trump did not need another negative headline, the president decided to weigh in on the Cornell alleged gang rape case.

In a shocking lawsuit, an unidentified young woman accused the university of covering up and slow-walking the investigation into her rape, over the course of hours, at a fraternity house. University officials have denied her accusations.

Revelations about how local law enforcement did not take her seriously when the alleged crime was reported have caused national outrage, and on Thursday New York's governor Kathy Hochul announced the appointment of a special prosecutor.

That prosecutor? Letitia "Tish" James, nemesis of the president who successfully prosecuted his conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business documents, a felony.

The stage was set for Trump to comment about his own newfound personal connection to the situation, and he delivered on Friday afternoon.

"Well, Letitia James is a corrupt person. She's totally corrupt and I can't imagine it. I feel badly for whoever she's looking at because they won't get a fair shake,” said Trump.

Read more here.

By John Bowden

Reading list

Caitlin Hornick: Elon Musk’s longtime partner Shivon Zilis announces he ended relationship with ‘no warning’
Alex Woodward: Trump-booster Benny Johnson hit with defamation suit for calling ICE protesters terrorists

Daily briefing

Vance tells Americans not to ‘gripe about all the little things’ as cost of living soars

The vice president, in a new interview, laid out his reasoning why Americans should keep the House and Senate in Republican hands. His message: Don't sweat things like high gas and food prices, reports John Bowden.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

At every turn, she was failed by people and institutions with an obligation to protect her.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, speaking at a press conference Friday on the appointment of a special prosecutor in the Cornell gang rape case.

What else you need to know

Everyone, take five: Secretary of "War" Pete Hegseth is giving members of the armed services a one-day military stand-down order to vote in the midterm elections, which will go into effect during election years. But he says it's not an order to vote for any one candidate. Brendan Rascius has more.
Another Trump justice: Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito revealed in a new interview that he is considering retirement, potentially handing President Donald Trump another nomination to the nation's highest court. Trump has already appointed three members of the Court's nine-member bench. Rachel Dobkin has the story.

Join the conversation and follow us

Download the free Independent app