Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger swore Hochman in as the new L.A. DA on Tuesday outside the city’s Hall of Justice. Hochman’s wife Vivienne Vella was also in attendance.

“District attorneys must have only two things as their North Stars: the facts and the law,” DA Hochman told the crowd. “I reject blanket extreme policies on both sides of the pendulum swing — decarceration policies that predetermine that certain crimes and certain criminals are not going to be prosecuted and mass incarceration policies that also are not anchored in the facts and the law.”

His appointment notably comes amid the county’s handling of the Menendez Brothers case. Hochman and Gascón have publicly stated their opposing views on granting Lyle and Erik Menendez clemency and/or resentencing after the success of Netflix’s “Monsters” anthology series. Most recently, their December hearing was postponed until Jan. 30 and 31, 2025.

While Hochman did not mention the brothers specifically in his Tuesday speech, he did discuss the pair with reporters after the press conference. “We’re going to look at all potential eventualities with the Menendez case,” he told TMZ. “But what I want to make crystal clear is two things: One, the Menendez case, though it has received high levels of media attention, will not get preferential treatment.”

The new DA continued, “The second is, I love the fact that the Menendez case has gotten media attention, because what it has done — I’m hoping — is it’s an entry point for people to get involved with the criminal justice system.”

During his swearing in ceremony, Hochman also addressed Los Angeles’ myriad crises — including homelessness, fentanyl, human trafficking, hate crimes and burglary. 

“No longer is this can getting kicked down the road,” he said. “The DA’s Office will partner with federal, state and local law enforcement, government organizations, nonprofits and other groups to seek solutions to problems that have severely affected public safety and the quality of life of residents throughout the county.”

Additionally, Hochman promised to implement Day 1 changes to his predecessor’s more liberal regulations — such as restoring sentencing enhancements and rescinding a prohibition against charging minors with misdemeanors for theft of <$950.

“The solemn and bedrock promise that the government makes to each of you is that it will keep you and your families safe and do so in the most legal, fair, and impartial way possible,” he further noted. “Working with the 2,100 employees of the DA’s Office, the tens of thousands of law enforcement officers, firefighters and first responders, and the hundreds of community organizations and neighborhood associations, we will keep that promise.”

Fellow Republican Schwarzenegger previously served as California’s governor from 2003-2011, though he stated in 2024 he now dislikes both parties.

The post Arnold Schwarzenegger Swears in LA District Attorney Nathan Hochman, Who Rejects ‘Blanket Extreme Policies on Both Sides’ appeared first on TheWrap.

“Terrible, horrible things are going to happen, and we are going to be responsible for wrapping our arms around those who do not have the same position and privilege that we do but still need us to be there,” Abrams told Oscar winner Laura Dern in a one-on-one conversation in Beverly Hills. “Our responsibility is not to wallow, but to work. More than hope, determination is our superpower.”

Last year, Abrams became senior counsel for Rewiring America, a nonprofit group that promotes electrification campaigns across the U.S. in an effort to drive down carbon emissions. The group was established in the wake of the approval of the Inflation Reduction Act, which provided billions in funding and incentives to expand renewable energy.

“No one is saying you have to get rid of what you have, but you want something new, if you want something nicer, you should be able to afford it, especially if it makes it healthier for you to do what you do every day,” Abrams said. “It doesn’t have to be painful to be good. And that comfort is the piece that is so important, because it lets individuals make choices that don’t feel like sacrifice, and instead, it feels like community.”

Abrams also told the Hollywood producers and executives in attendance that Rewiring America is consulting businesses on how they can de-carbonize in affordable ways. Dern said such consulting work was a big help while shooting the Apple TV+ series “Palm Royale,” which she is an executive producer on.

“It took amazing companies and organizations to guide us to how to become electric on set, to remove our dependency on fossil fuels, even in base camp, to come up with meals,” Dern said. “I have no idea how to transition meals for a crew that would be more thoughtful and waste free.”

While the Inflation Reduction Act has helped spur renewable production, the incoming Trump administration is expected to eliminate wide swaths of environmental regulation and to once again pull out of the Paris Climate Accords, which the U.S. exited during Trump’s first term as president and then rejoined under President Joe Biden.

Unlike his first term, Trump’s push to kill climate action on the federal level will be buoyed by a Supreme Court ruling earlier this year that overturned the Chevron Doctrine, a legal precedent established by the 1984 case “Chevron v. National Resource Defense Council,” which gave federal agencies latitude to interpret ambiguous laws when establishing regulations. A Republican-controlled federal legislature is expected to use that decision to push for significant elimination of regulatory power.

Despite what’s to come, Abrams said she’s not giving up, stressing that the 2024 election was “a loss, not a landslide” for Democrats.

“The reason that matters is that losing means you didn’t get it,” she said. “Landslide means you probably can’t get back to it. We lost, but we didn’t lose our power, we didn’t lose our citizenship, we didn’t lose our voice, we didn’t lose our imagination. And we refuse to lose our positioning and our platform.

“I don’t believe in resistance. I believe in insistence.”

TheWrap’s Power Women Summit is the essential gathering of the most influential women across entertainment and media. The event aims to inspire and empower women across the landscape of their professional careers and personal lives. With the theme, “Aspire,” this year’s PWS provides one day of keynotes, panels, workshops and networking. For more information visit thewrap.com/pws. For all of TheWrap’s Power Women Summit 2024 coverage, click here.

The post Stacey Abrams Says Democrats’ Responsibility Is ‘Not to Wallow’ Through Trump’s 2nd Term | Video appeared first on TheWrap.

“But to be fair, there’s a very good chance he doesn’t remember saying that,” Kimmel joked. (Obviously referring to Biden’s age and age-related problems he very visibly had this year.)

But before that joke, Kimmel brought people up to speed on the pardon — which you can read about here — and the reaction to it.

“Trump has a lot to give thanks for this year, but no one has more to be thankful for this weekend than Hunter Biden. President Biden, even though he specifically said he wouldn’t, pardoned his son Hunter yesterday on federal tax and firearm charges. He dropped the pardon out of nowhere like it was a Kendrick Lamar album, and it caught pretty much everyone by surprise,” Kimmel said.

Kimmel then played some reactions, and also joked that “Trump’s got a couple of Hunters himself,” referring to his sons Don Jr. and Eric.

“Now, I am not a Presidential historian, but I believe – this is the first time a US President has pardoned both his son, and a turkey, in the same week. Biden released a statement saying that the charges in Hunter’s case were politically motivated and his son was ‘selectively and unfairly prosecuted,'” Kimmel explained.

“In other words, the Biden presidency has now entered the “grandpa doesn’t give a damn about what you think” phase,” he added.

“I wonder if Joe now has to get Hunter anything for Christmas. This is good enough right?” Kimmel continued, at which point he took a look at the reaction from right wing media, which he said “is going so nuts over this, you’d almost think they got a tape of Biden calling Georgia, asking for eleven thousand votes.”

After playing clips of some particularly risible reactions, Kimmel said, “everyone who voted to let a 34-time convicted felon off the hook, is very mad about Joe Biden letting his son off the hook… And I, by the way, I don’t, I don’t necessarily disagree. The guy committed crimes. But let’s, take a stroll through reality here.”  

“Not only did Trump pardon his son-in-law Jared’s Dad, who went to prison for hiring a hooker to frame his own brother-in-law, this weekend he named that same man US ambassador to France,” Kimmel elaborated.

“And yes, Joe Biden did say he wasn’t going to pardon Hunter. But to be fair, there’s a very good chance he doesn’t remember saying that. Okay?”

Kimmel mocked Donald Trump for his statement demanding Biden also pardon “the J-6 Hostages, who have now been imprisoned for years,” but offered that “it’d be pretty funny if it did! Right? ‘I hereby pardon my son Hunter, and what the hell, the Q-Anon Shaman too.”

Watch the whole monologue below:

The post Jimmy Kimmel Concedes Biden Promised Not to Pardon Hunter, but ‘There’s a Very Good Chance He Doesn’t Remember’ | Video  appeared first on TheWrap.

Colbert was of course referring to the announcement made on Sunday that Biden has given his son a full pardon for any crimes — including “offenses against the United States” (uhhh) — committed between Jan. 1, 2014 and Dec. 1, 2024.

“Technically he snuck Hunter’s pardon in last week while he was doing the turkeys. I think this pardon proves that with less than two months to go, Joe is officially out of malarkeys. And by malarkeys, I mean f—s,” Colbert said. “I say he should go full bucket list. Just pardon everybody. Just load up those pardons into a nerf machine gun and go pop pop pop pop pop pop.”

“Just hit them all. Pardon all the Jan. 6 people before Trump could do it, that would really burn him up. Or, you know what, you know, what would be really funny. This would be really funny if Joe pardoned, like, every late night host, and just because I think it would be a funny bit, I would accept that pardon.” Colbert continued.

Then Colbert covered the details of Hunter’s pardon — including that it pretty unmistakably breaks a promise Biden previously made.

“Now this pardon doesn’t [just] cover the charges Hunter is currently facing, but also ‘offenses against the United States which he has committed, or may have committed, or taken part in during the period from January 1 2014 through December 1 2024.” Colbert explained. “Coincidentally, that’s also the window of time for the Comcast guy to arrive.”

“The language so broad that experts say we haven’t seen a pardon as sweeping as Hunter Biden’s in generations. So it’s less of a blanket pardon and more of a tarp,” he added.

“Now, one reason some people are upset is that Biden reversed his long standing pledge not to use his presidential powers to protect his son. And I get why they’d be angry,” Colbert continued. Does Biden’s word mean nothing? Can we trust anything he says when he goes, ‘I’m serious, folks. I’m not kidding around, No joke,?’ Was he in fact, kidding around, yes joke?”

Watch the full monologue below:

had some tough talk for Donald Trump’s insanely corrupt pick to head up the FBI when he takes office in January — and then promptly made sure that his rival late night hosts Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon would end up blamed for it.

For context, on Monday Trump announced he’ll fire FBI director Christopher Wray, the lifelong Republican Trump himself appointed back in 2017, and replace him with Kash Patel, a former federal prosecutor. Patel is also a hard right wing conspiracy theorist and election denier who has, quite literally, threatened to bring the power of the state against anyone Trump perceives as an enemy, including journalists.

“Folks are worried Patel is going to investigate Trump’s political enemies, considering last year, Patel said this,” Colbert explained before playing a clip in which Patel said, verbatim: “We will go out and find the conspirators, not just in government, but in the media. Yes, we’re going to come after the people in the media, whether it’s criminal or civilly, we’ll figure that out. But, yeah, we’re putting you all on notice.”

“Oh, really,” Colbert said with exaggerated bravado. “You see me shake, Kash? Let me help you remember me, okay? I’m the middle aged, brown haired, white guy with an 11:30 network show, and I will never bow down to authoritarians. Or my name isn’t Jimmy Something.”

There’s plenty more to Colbert’s monologue, and you can watch the whole thing below:

This isn’t the first time Colbert has playfully used one of his media competitors/peers as a virtual human shield for a joke, of course. For instance, back in 2022, after discussing how the leader of the neofascist group the Proud Boys doesn’t like him, Colbert pretended his name is Joe Scarborough.

The post Stephen Colbert Says He’s Not Sure if Biden Was Right to Pardon Hunter, but He ‘Earned That World’s Greatest Dad Mug’ | Video appeared first on TheWrap.

Manchin told CNN’s Manu Raju on Monday that while he sympathizes with the pardoning, he thinks Biden could have made it “more balanced” if he also pardoned Donald Trump.

“As a father, I don’t know a father that wouldn’t have done the same thing. What I would have done differently,” Manchin said, “my recommendations to the counsel would have been, ‘why don’t you go ahead and pardon Donald Trump for all his charges and make it, you know, it’d have gone down a lot more balanced, if you will. I’m just saying, wipe them out.”

Manchin added that the pardon also “makes it difficult” to assess Biden’s legacy.

Watch the clip below:

Biden announced on Sunday that we was pardoning Hunter for any crimes committed between 2014 and Dec. 1, 2024. Among other reasons, Biden wrote, “”No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter’s cases can reach any other conclusion Hunter was singled out because he’s my son — and that is wrong.” Read more here.

The move has of course been criticized by members of the press and by certain centrist elements within the Democratic Party, as well as by Donald Trump and Republicans.

Meanwhile, left out of Manchin’s comment — as well as as from the complaints from other offended parties — is any mention of the dozens of pardons Donald Trump issued during his time as president, such as his last-minute pardons of multiple criminally convicted associated including Roger Stone and Paul Manafort. Manchin also did not mention Trump’s massive pardon blitz the day before he left office, which included Steve Bannon and multiple other people whose crimes ranged from operating as unregistered foreign agents to fraud.

Manchin did not also note that the majority of charges against Trump stem from literal attempts to overthrow the government after losing the 2020 election.

However, it is true that by pardoning Hunter, Biden has unmistakably broken a promise he specifically made not to use presidential pardon power to help his son out of his legal woes. It’s unclear why Biden didn’t seem to consider what was happening to Hunter as a politically driven attack sooner. Though of course, while he didn’t promise it, in 2020 Biden did indicate that he was a “transitional” political figure, implying he wouldn’t run for reelection; he of course ended up doing so, until his confused, doddering debate appearance in June against Trump ended up leading him to drop out.

As for whether Biden should take Manchin’s advice, it’s worth noting that it comes almost 3 years exactly after Manchin broke several explicit promises and practically single-handedly killed Biden’s signature “Build Back Better” bill — while also appearing to deliberately snub the president at the same time.

The post Joe Manchin Says Biden’s Pardon of Hunter Would Be ‘More Balanced’ if He Also Pardoned Trump | Video appeared first on TheWrap.

Asked while on “The Lead” Monday what the special budget legislation requesting $25 million would be used for, Bonta detailed the number of ways that President-elect Trump is anticipated to break the law, from not following the processes of the Administrative Procedures Act, to violating the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause, to misallocating funds for projects that they’re not meant for and more.

Watch a clip of the segment below:

California AG prepares for legal battles with new Trump WH
Watch the full video here: https://t.co/KUmIc30xGr pic.twitter.com/Yv8371oKKq

— The Lead CNN (@TheLeadCNN) December 2, 2024

“If history is an indicator of the future, if the statements made by Mr. Trump, his inner circle, Project 2025 are any indicator, we will need to go to court to stop him from breaking the law, from violating the Constitution, from breaking federal law, from overreaching his enumerated, limited, delineated executive authority and make sure he stays within his actual sphere of given lawful jurisdiction,” Bonta explained. “So, in short, if he breaks the law, we’re going to court to stop him.”

“What do you mean breaking the law?” Tapper pressed. “Like, give me more of an example there, because that’s quite a preemptive accusation.”

That’s when the attorney general broke down the possibilities — many of which he said were seeds planted in the former president’s first administration from 2016–2020.

“If he violates the Equal Protection Clause by going after LGBTQ+ communities in ways that are in violation of the Constitution; if he goes outside his actual federal authority and doesn’t follow the processes of the Administrative Procedures Act, where you need notice and comment and you can’t do things that are arbitrary and capricious — he violated that quite a bit in Trump Administration 1.0; if he tries to use funds for a project or for a purpose that they’re not supposed to be used for, like building the border wall — he did that in Trump 1.0,” he said. “Those are all varied examples of how he broke the law.”

“He was pretty creative in the ways that he did it,” Bonta added. “He likes to do what he wants, when he wants, how he wants, regardless of the Constitution or federal law, and if he does that, we will be there to stop him.”

Newsom first introduced the proposed $25 million in funding to prepare for legal battles against the Trump administration on Monday, the first day the governor held a special session of the state’s legislature to prepare such safeguards ahead of Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration. Anticipated court battles, Newsom laid out, include legal developments around reproductive rights, environmental protection and immigration.

“The new litigation fund will help safeguard critical funding for disaster relief, health care and other vital services that millions of Californians depend on daily,” Newsom wrote in his proposal, adding that California intends to “defend against unlawful federal actions that could jeopardize not only tangible resources and the state’s economy” but social causes including abortion rights and equality.

Watch the clip from CNN above or in full here.

The post Gavin Newsom’s $25 Million Anti-Trump War Chest ‘Will Stop Him From Breaking the Law,’ California AG Says | Video appeared first on TheWrap.

The article, published Nov. 26 and written by Jeremy W. Peters, purported that some within the transgender activist movement think they’re being too confrontational when dealing with anti-trans opponents. The “Harry Potter” author has been vocal against the trans community for years and called the article a “rewriting of history,” adding that, “‘Yes, maybe trans activists went a little over the top at times’ takes are frankly insulting.”

“I’ve been sent thousands of threats of murder, rape and violence,” Rowling wrote on X Monday. “A trans woman posted my family’s home address with a bomb-making guide. My eldest child was targeted by a prominent trans activist who attempted to doxx her and ended up doxxing the wrong young woman. I could write a twenty thousand word essay on what the consequences have been to me and my family, and what we’ve endured is NOTHING compared to the harm done to others.”

She continued, “By standing up to a movement that relies on threats of violence, ostracisation and guilt-by-association, all of us have been smeared and defamed, but many have lost their livelihoods. Some have been physically assaulted by trans activists. Female politicians have been forced to hire personal security on the advice of police. The news that one of the U.K.’s leading endocrinologists, Dr. Hillary Cass, was advised not to travel by public transport for her own safety should shame everyone who let this insanity run amok.”

The Times spoke with Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen, the executive director of Advocates for Transgender Equality, for its story. He said that if the confrontational approach to dealing with anti-trans people continues, no one will be open to changing perspectives.

“We have to make it OK for someone to change their minds,” Heng-Lehtinen told the Times. “We cannot vilify them for not being on our side. No one wants to join that team.”

Rowling finished her social media post by saying “some who’ve been riding high on their own supply are waking up with a hell of a hangover” and that receipts of interactions she’s faced will make for some “very ugly reading.”

“Mealy-mouthed retconning of what has actually happened over the past 10 years is predictable but will not stand,” she said. “I don’t doubt those who’ve turned a blind eye to the purges of non-believers, or even applauded and encouraged them, would rather minimize what the true cost of speaking out was, but ‘yes, maybe trans activists went a little over the top at times’ takes are frankly insulting. A full reckoning on the effects of gender ideology on individuals, society and politics is still a long way off, but I know this: the receipts will make very ugly reading when that time comes, and there are far too many of them to sweep politely under the carpet.”

The post J.K. Rowling Slams ‘Insulting’ NY Times Story on Confrontational Trans Activists, Says She Faces ‘Threats of Murder, Rape, Violence’ appeared first on TheWrap.

“Does the Pardon given by Joe to Hunter include the J-6 Hostages, who have now been imprisoned for years? Such an abuse and miscarriage of Justice!” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Sunday.

Trump’s posts came in response to Biden’s move to grant his son clemency. That was after Hunter was found guilty over the summer of three felony counts related to the purchase and possession of a firearm while addicted to drugs. In September, the younger Biden agreed to plead guilty to nine tax-related charges, including three felonies. He would have faced up to 17 years in federal prison. This decision walks back Biden previously stating he wouldn’t use the power to pardon Hunter, as noted by ABC News.

“Today, I signed a pardon for my son Hunter. From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere with the Justice Department’s decision-making, and I kept my word even as I have watched my son being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted. Without aggravating factors like use in a crime, multiple purchases, or buying a weapon as a straw purchaser, people are almost never brought to trial on felony charges solely for how they filled out a gun form,” Biden began in his statement.

“Those who were late paying their taxes because of serious addictions, but paid them back subsequently with interest and penalties, are typically given non-criminal resolutions. It is clear that Hunter was treated differently.”

As for the Jan. 6 rioters, per the United States Department of Justice, approximately 944 defendants had “their cases adjudicated and received sentences for their criminal activity on Jan. 6,” and 562 people involved in the attack have been given prison sentences.

Trump has used the authority action himself to free several convicted felons, including his former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort; the father of his son-in-law, Charles Kushner; and George Papadopoulos, among others.

On Nov. 25, Special Counsel Jack Smith moved to drop two major federal cases against President-elect Donald Trump, including the investigations into his alleged interference of the 2020 Presidential election.

The post Donald Trump Asks if Joe Biden’s Pardon for Hunter Includes Jan. 6 ‘Hostages’ appeared first on TheWrap.

“Everybody is talking about the hostages who are being held so violently, inhumanely, and against the will of the entire World, in the Middle East – But it’s all talk, and no action!” he wrote on Truth Social on Monday. “Please let this TRUTH serve to represent that if the hostages are not released prior to January 20, 2025, the date that I proudly assume Office as President of the United States, there will be ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East, and for those in charge who perpetrated these atrocities against Humanity.”

“Those responsible will be hit harder than anybody has been hit in the long and storied History of the United States of America. RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW!” Trump concluded.

Trump’s remarks came after U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said that Hamas is starting to feel pressure and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has agreed that “the time is right” for a cease-fire agreement that returns the remaining captives from Gaza after President Joe Biden’s administration spoke to the family of American hostage Edan Alexander.

“I do think that Hamas is feeling the pressure. They’re feeling the pressure because one of their main partners in crime here, Hezbollah, has now cut a cease-fire deal,” Sullivan explained on Sunday’s “Face the Nation.”

“They’re feeling the pressure, of course, because their top leader, Sinwar, has been killed. So, they may be looking anew at the possibility of getting a cease-fire and hostage deal,” he added. A 13-part ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel was announced last week.

Sullivan further added that the Biden administration is “working actively with all of the key players in the region, including Israel and Turkey and Qatar and Egypt,” to bring to fruition a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas — one that will hopefully return the remaining hostages home and also end the war in the region.

Trump’s Monday warning also came a day after naming businessman and daughter Tiffany Trump’s father-in-law Massad Boulos as his pick for senior adviser on Arab and Middle Eastern affairs.

Also on Sunday, the president-elect likened the Jan. 6 rioters to “hostages” in response to Biden pardoning his son Hunter Biden.

“Does the Pardon given by Joe to Hunter include the J-6 Hostages, who have now been imprisoned for years? Such an abuse and miscarriage of Justice!” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Sunday.

Stephanie Kaloi and Rocky Harris contributed to this story.

The post Trump Promises ‘All Hell to Pay in the Middle East’ if Hostages Are Not Released by Inauguration Day appeared first on TheWrap.

For host Whoopi Goldberg, the move wasn’t surprising, simply because all presidents use the power of the pardon — as she pointed out, Donald Trump granted 237 acts of clemency, 143 pardons and 94 commutations during his first term.

“It is a president’s prerogative. You know, people can say, ‘Why are you doing that?’ But that’s what presidents do,” she said. “Every time, they do it. Every time, they pardon somebody. So I’m not sure why the pearl clutching is happening now, except that that’s what folks want to do. But it seems kind of foolish.”

Indeed, the move has proven unpopular with Republicans. Daily Wire founder Ben Shapiro was among those who attacked the elder Biden online for it, saying the president has “always been a venal liar who utilized his political power to pursue familial gain.”

Shapiro did not point out that multiple Trump children were given jobs in their father’s White House and made money off said positions, and Trump also pardoned his son-in-law’s father for witness tampering, among other crimes.

The president-elect has since appointed that same man, Charles Kushner, as ambassador to France, which host Sunny Hostin quickly pointed out.

“Do you know what a nice, cushy job that is, that any felon would like?” Hostin marveled. “So, please with the hypocritical pearl-clutching by this country.”

You can watch the full discussion from “The View” in the video above.

The post ‘The View’ Hosts Scoff at ‘Hypocritical Pearl-Clutching’ by GOP After Hunter Biden Pardon | Video appeared first on TheWrap.