Gascón’s Chief of Staff Ordered to Pay Fees to Ex-Colleague

Friday, March 6, 2026

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Gascón’s Chief of Staff Ordered to Pay Fees to Ex-Colleague

By Kimber Cooley, associate editor

TIFFINY BLACKNELL
attorney

A trial judge has ordered that Tiffiny Blacknell, who served as chief of staff for one-term Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón, pay more than $50,000 in attorney fees to Deputy District Attorney John Lewin after he successfully argued that her defamation lawsuit against him is a SLAPP, placing her on the hook for more than $100,000 so far in her legal action accusing the county and others of “intense and unfounded attacks” against her.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Richard L. Fruin awarded the fees to Lewin on Tuesday, matching the amount of the recovery by the County of Los Angeles and its current district attorney, Nathan Hochman earlier this year after those defendants’ special motions to strike defamation causes of action were also granted. Hochman toppled Gascón in the Nov. 5, 2024 general election.

Blacknell was serving as a deputy public defender in 2021 when Gascón brought her over to the county’s prosecutorial team. In late 2020, shortly after Gascón’s election and while she was serving on his transition team, she reportedly tried to engineer a “sweetheart” plea bargain for an accused murderer by dealing directly with a special assistant to the new office head rather than dealing with the attorney in charge of the case.

Hochman and Lewin were vocal opponents of Blacknell’s appointment to the chief of staff position, pointing out that she had never prosecuted a case and had made social media posts that they characterized as pro-criminal. Hochman fired her in December 2024, within days of taking the helm at the nation’s largest local prosecutorial office.

Lewin is best known for his successful prosecution of real estate empire heir Robert Durst for murder.

Social Media Campaign

In Blacknell’s pleading, filed last August, she accused Hochman and Lewin of targeting her during the campaign and alleged:

“Defendant Lewin persisted with a social media campaign of slander and personal attacks that cast an unwarranted shadow over Mrs. Blacknell’s previously excellent reputation. Lewin’s attacks ranged from mild to extreme comments including characterizing Mrs. Blacknell as ‘corrupt,’ ‘crazy,’ a ‘police hating nut job,’ and ‘unqualified.’ He stated that ‘two dogs were more qualified to be a prosecutor’ than Mrs. Blacknell and called her a ‘quisling’ who supported HAMAS. Lewin dispersed his slander via his private social media page(s) and also through direct emails to Mrs. Blacknell via the County email server.” Saying that Hochman “wasted no time” in launching attacks against her after announcing his candidacy in 2023, she continued:

“In a shocking display of disregard,…Hochman convened a press conference where he publicly demanded Mrs. Blacknell’s immediate termination, brandishing a sign emblazoned with her face. This inflammatory act generated no less than 12 news stories, amplifying the vitriol directed at her. In subsequent interviews, he further tarnished her name, infamously labeling her ‘the worst chief of staff in Los Angeles County history,’ and the most ‘unqualified, pro-criminal chief of staff in Los Angeles County history.’ ”

At the Jan. 16, 2024 press conference referenced in the complaint, Hochman displayed a sign showing a photograph of Blacknell wearing a shirt that read:

“THE POLICE ARE TRAINED TO KILL US.”

Anti-SLAPP Motions

On Dec. 3, Fruin granted special motions to strike the defamation causes of action under California’s anti-SLAPP statute, found at Code of Civil Procedure §425.16, saying that Hochman and Lewin’s statements “constitute political speech involving individuals who hold positions of public office” and “is…the ‘quintessential subject’ of our constitutional right to free speech.”

Noting that Blacknell had “failed to file an opposition” to any of the anti-SLAPP motions, he said she could not establish a “likelihood of success on the merits” as required to prevail.

Blacknell dismissed Lewin from the lawsuit after the order. Fees are mandatory for defendants who prevail in anti-SLAPP litigation.

Fruin granted motions for attorney fees and costs for the county and Hochman, who were jointly represented by lawyers with the Century City office of Glaser Weil Fink Howard Jordan & Shapiro LLP, awarding $53,029.63 for work on behalf of both clients.

On Tuesday, the judge awarded the same amount to Lewin, noting that he had requested approximately $5,000 more but saying that his attorneys, with the Los Angeles-based law office of Miller Barondess LLP, had “worked independently of the County’s counsel” and that, while their work was “well done,” it was “not performed with an eye to minimizing legal fees.”

Pointing out that “plaintiff’s counsel refused repeatedly to provide an alternate estimate for the reasonable value for Lewin’s SLAPP motion,” he wrote:

“The Court concludes that the legal fee awarded for Lewin should be the same as the fee award given to the County. The County’s success in getting a ruling on its SLAPP motion established that that motion, together with the fee motion, can be accomplished at a lesser cost than Lewin requests in his fee motion.”

Yesterday, Lewin remarked:

“From the start, it was clear that this was a completely illegitimate lawsuit, both legally and morally. It was like Gascón and his cronies when they ran the office.

“This was nothing more than a blatant attempt to silence me about a matter of incredible public concern leading up to an extremely consequential election.”

As of press time, Blacknell has not responded to a request for comment.

Retaliation and discrimination claims remain against Hochman and the county. Blacknell, with leave of the court, filed an amended complaint yesterday.

Lawsuits relating to Gascón’s time in office have cost the cash-strapped county millions. Lewin secured a $2.9 million settlement in December 2024 relating to claims that he was demoted after publicly criticizing Gascón.

In March 2023, a jury awarded another career prosecutor, Shawn Randolph, $1.5 million relating to her assertions that she was denied job opportunities after expressing concerns with Gascón’s leadership. About 20 lawsuits have been filed by prosecutors alleging similar treatment.

Blacknell is now a communications consultant and defense attorney in Culver City.