CNN chief legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin will exit network after 20 years

By Oliver Darcy, CNN Business

Jeffrey Toobin said Friday that he will depart CNN, where he served most recently as chief legal analyst, putting an end to a 20-year run at the network in which he provided no-holds barred commentary and suffered a setback over a scandal in which he inadvertently exposed himself to co-workers on a video call.

“Friends, I’ve decided that, after 20 years, I’m leaving [CNN] after my vacation,” Toobin wrote on Twitter. “Was great to spend my last day on air with pals Wolf [Blitzer], Anderson [Cooper] and Don [Lemon].”

Toobin, who was last on air August 4th, added, “Love all my former colleagues.”

In his tweet Toobin, the author of a number of bestselling books, teased his next nonfiction work about the Oklahoma City bombing, which is due out in 2023.

A CNN spokesperson said, “We are grateful for Jeffrey’s contributions to the network over the years and wish him all the best in his future endeavors.”

Toobin did not immediately respond to a request seeking further detail on his decision.

Toobin was a mainstay on CNN’s programming for years, appearing on the network’s programming during some of the most monumental moments in American current events and politics.

Toobin’s analysis was unflinching and he became something of a bogeyman of some conservatives for his outspoken commentary about former President Donald Trump.

Toobin generated headlines in 2020 after he accidentally exposed himself to colleagues at The New Yorker and WNYC during a Zoom call. He was suspended and then eventually fired by The New Yorker, and sidelined from CNN at the time of the incident.

But CNN gave Toobin a second chance, welcoming him back on its air eight months later. During his first appearance back on the air, Toobin spoke to anchor Alisyn Camerota about the incident.

In that appearance with Camerota, Toobin described himself as a “flawed human being who makes mistakes” and said his conduct was “deeply moronic and indefensible.”

In the interview, Toobin also apologized to his wife and family, to the people who were on the Zoom call that day, and to his colleagues.

The-CNN-Wire
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