I do not literally mean that every hot take I’ve seen about the recently revived 2024 Cornell rape allegation is terrible. Zachary Faria is correct that Democrats are accepting the accuser’s newly filed lawsuit far too credulously, without vetting Jane Doe’s claims, which would be galling if true. Defense attorney Andrew Fleischman is also right that Doe’s original statement, as summarized by the police, does not describe conduct that meets the stringent standards for criminal rape under New York law.

But I insist that everyone calm the hell down about this case and wait for more information because the drip-drip-drip of leaks and quotations makes clear that we do not have the full story.