LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón faces an uncertain future in the 2024 election, following allegations of retaliation from inside the District Attorney’s office.

LA County prosecutor Shawn Randolph was awarded $1.5 million in a lawsuit against Gascón. According to the LA Times, there are more than a dozen similar civil claims.

Gascón joined “Inside the Issues” host Alex Cohen to talk about the allegations of retaliation and his uncertain future in LA.

For Randolph’s case, she argued Gascón moved her as retaliation for pushing against his progressive policies of not charging juveniles as adults in certain cases.

However, Gascón said the move was a typical decision that happens when dealing with a large workforce like the LA County District Attorney’s office.

“This person was moved to a position of same rank, same pay — she actually never moved from her physical office,” Gascón said.

Gascón notes that when people sign on to work for the LA DA’s office, they sign an agreement that they could be moved to different areas throughout the county.

Another criticism against Gascón comes from the Association of Deputy District Attorneys. It has alleged Gascón is gutting the Victim Impact Program, or VIP. The program is designed to help both domestic violence survivors and sexual assault survivors. 

Gascón argues that when he came into office, VIP was in need of revamping and he worked to establish a separation between the two issues to help bring clarity and streamline services.

“We actually created a clear division between domestic violence and sexual assault, to have a clear divide because they’re different kinds of work,” Gascón said. “We’re actually putting more emphasis on the work.”

Facing accusations of retaliation and criticism for his handling of the program will affect Gascón’s chances of reelection in 2024. Candidates have already entered the race to replace him, but Gascón said he is ready for the challenge.

“I think this is the essence of democracy, and I welcome that. I think the public should have the opportunity to look at my work — I stand on my record, look at others, see what they have to offer, and at the end of the day, people will decide,” Gascón said.

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