Just over a month ago, New York Governor Kathy Hochul appointed Attorney General Letitia James as a special prosecutor to investigate and potentially prosecute as many as seven Cornell fraternity members accused of sexually assaulting a Jane Doe classmate in October 2024.

Now, as James faces calls for her removal from the case after she expressed support for Jane Doe and other survivors, she has herself hired an outside lawyer — former federal prosecutor Jacqueline Kelly — to spearhead that investigation alongside lawyers and staff from her firm, Boies Schiller & Flexner, and the Attorney General’s office.

“Jacqueline Kelly is a seasoned prosecutor who has overseen numerous cases from investigation through trial. With her criminal legal expertise, commitment to public service, and judicial experience, I am confident that she will lead a fair and comprehensive investigation,” James said in a statement.

In her new role, Kelly will function as the head of the investigation but will report to James, whose office does not regularly handle sex crimes matters.

According to her firm bio, Kelly, who served as an assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York for nine years, specializes in representing both companies and individuals “facing high-profile regulatory or criminal investigations, as well as victims of sexual assault and other crimes.”

“All New Yorkers deserve a fair and thorough inquiry into the facts of this case,” Kelly said in that statement. “I look forward to lending my years of experience as a federal prosecutor to the Office of the Attorney General as we examine all available evidence.”

At the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Kelly served as the first chief of the criminal division’s civil rights unit between 2022 and 2025, a time frame in which she also led the prosecution of Sean “Diddy” Combs. Combs was acquitted of sex trafficking and racketeering charges, but a jury found him guilty on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. He remains in federal custody and is scheduled to be released in March 2028.

As part of the Combs trial team, Kelly worked alongside Maurene Comey, the daughter of former FBI Director and noted Trump adversary James Comey. Ms. Comey, a veteran prosecutor, was fired without explanation in summer 2025 and recently prevailed in a lawsuit against the Department of Justice for her unlawful termination.

With another former Southern District prosecutor, Mimi Rocah, Kelly wrote a piece criticizing then-U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton for his failure to defend Ms. Comey, who, in addition to Combs, investigated both Jeffrey Epstein and his co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell.

In addition to the Combs case, Kelly also was involved in bringing federal charges against Canadian fashion and retail executive Peter Nygard, who was convicted of sexual assault in two Canadian cases while awaiting extradition to the U.S., other sexual exploitation and abuse cases, and civil rights matters, such as hate crimes and voting rights violations. Nygard has pleaded not guilty in the U.S. case.

A graduate of Columbia Law School, Kelly served as a law clerk to two federal district court judges: Ronnie Abrams of the Southern District of New York and Kevin McNulty in the District of New Jersey.

Another important credential Kelly holds for her newest assignment: A bachelor’s degree from Cornell, from which she graduated magna cum laude in 2007.

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