Jeffrey Toobin

Jeffrey Ross Toobin[1] (/ˈtuːbɪn/; born May 21, 1960) is an American lawyer, blogger, author and legal analyst for CNN.[2] During the Iran–Contra affair, he served as an associate counsel in the Department of Justice. He moved from government into writing during the 1990s, and wrote for The New Yorker from 1993 to 2020. Toobin has written several books, including an account of the O. J. Simpson murder case. That book was adapted as a TV series, The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story, which aired in 2016 as the first season of FX American Crime Story; it won nine Emmy Awards.[3] In October of 2020, Toobin took a leave from CNN and was suspended and then fired from The New Yorker after exposing himself and masturbating while on a Zoom video call.[4][5]

Jeffrey Toobin
Toobin at the 2012 Texas Book Festival
Born
Jeffrey Ross Toobin

(1960-05-21) May 21, 1960
New York, New York, U.S.
EducationHarvard University (BA, JD)
OccupationLegal analyst, commentator
Notable credit(s)
The New Yorker (1993–2020)
CNN Senior Legal Analyst (2002–)
Spouse(s)
Amy Bennett McIntosh
​
​
(m. 1986)​
Children3
Parent(s)Jerome Toobin
Marlene Sanders
Websitejeffreytoobin.com

Early life and education

Toobin was born to a Jewish family[6] in New York City in 1960,[7] a son of Marlene Sanders, former ABC News and CBS News correspondent, and Jerome Toobin, a news broadcasting producer.[8] His younger brother, Mark, born in 1967 with Downs syndrome, lived apart from the family.[9]

He attended Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School, and then Harvard College for undergraduate studies. He covered sports for The Harvard Crimson,[10] where his column was titled "Inner Toobin". Toobin graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in American History and Literature, and was awarded a Harry S. Truman Scholarship. He then attended Harvard Law School, where he was classmates with Elena Kagan and graduated magna cum laude with a J.D. in 1986. While there, he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review.[11]

Career
Toobin promoting his book The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court at the 2007 Texas Book Festival

Toobin began freelancing for The New Republic while a law student. After passing the bar, he worked as a law clerk to a federal judge and then as an associate counsel for Independent Counsel Lawrence Walsh during the Iran–Contra affair and Oliver North's criminal trial. He next served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn.[12]

Toobin wrote a book, Opening arguments : a young lawyer's first case, United States v. Oliver North., about his work in the Office of Independent Counsel, to which Walsh objected. Toobin went to court to affirm his right to publish. Judge John F. Keenan of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York wrote an opinion that Toobin and his publisher had the right to release this book. Walsh's appeal of the case was dismissed by the court.[13]

After three years as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, Toobin resigned from the U.S. Attorney's office in Brooklyn, where he had gone to work after working for Walsh, and abandoned "the practice of law." He started working in 1993 at The New Yorker and became a television legal analyst for ABC in 1996.

Toobin has provided broadcast legal analysis on many high-profile cases. In 1994, Toobin broke the story in The New Yorker that the legal team in O. J. Simpson's criminal trial planned to accuse Mark Fuhrman of planting evidence.[14] Toobin provided analysis of Michael Jackson's 2005 child molestation trial,[15] the O. J. Simpson civil case, and prosecutor Kenneth Starr's investigation of President Bill Clinton. He received a 2000 Emmy Award for his coverage of the Elián González custody saga.

Toobin joined CNN in 2002;[14] he is now the chief legal analyst. In 2003, he secured the first interview with Martha Stewart about the insider trading charges against her.[2]

Toobin speaking about the Supreme Court at the John J. Rhodes Lecture in Tempe, Arizona

Toobin is the author of seven books. His book The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court (2007) received awards from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University.[14]

His next book, The Oath: The Obama White House and the Supreme Court, was published in 2012. American Heiress: The Kidnapping, Crimes and Trial of Patty Hearst came out in 2016. All were New York Times Best Sellers. In 2020, he authored True Crimes and Misdemeanors, the Investigation of Donald Trump, which is described as a condensation of evidence against the character and presidency of Donald Trump as if he were on trial.[16]

Zoom call incident

On October 19, 2020, Toobin was suspended from The New Yorker after a Zoom video call between New Yorker and WNYC radio staffers.[4] The New York Times reported that according to Masha Gessen, one of the call participants, "he was seen lowering and raising his computer camera, exposing and touching his penis, and motioning an air kiss to someone other than his colleagues."[9] CNN said Toobin "has asked for some time off while he deals with a personal issue, which we have granted." Toobin contended the incident was unintentional and said in a statement: "I made an embarrassingly stupid mistake, believing I was off-camera. I apologize to my wife, family, friends and co-workers."[17] The next month, he was fired from The New Yorker, after an internal investigation by the parent organization, Condé Nast.[5] New York Public Radio, which owns WNYC, indefinitely banned Toobin from its broadcasts and podcasts.[9]

Toobin was widely ridiculed in the wake of the incident by, among others, Jimmy Fallon and Donald Trump Jr.. Defenders included former New Yorker editor Tina Brown, who said that "27 years of superb reporting and commitment to The New Yorker should have been weighed against an incident that horribly embarrassed the magazine but mostly embarrassed himself." Author and journalist Malcolm Gladwell said he "read the Condé Nast news release, and I was puzzled because I couldn’t find any intellectual justification for what they were doing."[9]

Personal life
Toobin in 2017

In 1986, Toobin married Amy Bennett McIntosh, whom he met in college while they worked at The Harvard Crimson. She is a 1980 Harvard graduate, holds an MBA degree from Harvard Business School,[1][10] and has held executive positions at Verizon Communications and Zagat Survey.[18] They have two adult children, a daughter and son.[18]

Toobin had a longtime off-and-on extramarital affair with attorney Casey Greenfield,[19] who is the daughter of American television journalist and author Jeff Greenfield and the ex-wife of screenwriter Matt Manfredi.[20] They had a child in 2009, which Toobin initially resisted acknowledging.[18][21] Ultimately, Toobin's paternity was confirmed with a DNA test and a Manhattan Family Court judge ordered Toobin to pay child support.[19]

In the 2016 television series The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story, Toobin was portrayed by Chris Conner.[22]

Bibliography
Main article: Jeffrey Toobin bibliography

References
  1. "J.R. Toobin Weds Amy B. McIntosh". The New York Times. June 1, 1986. Retrieved July 11, 2008.
  2. "Contributors: Jeffrey Toobin". The New Yorker. Retrieved August 6, 2010.
  3. "The People vs O.J.Simpson Emmy Awards". Emmys.com. December 10, 2016. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
  4. "Jeffrey Toobin suspended by The New Yorker and is temporarily stepping away from CNN following report he exposed himself on Zoom". CBS News. Associated Press. October 20, 2020. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
  5. Robertson, Katie (November 11, 2020). "Jeffrey Toobin Is Fired by The New Yorker". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  6. Sher, Cindy (May 2, 2017). "Interview with CNN's Jeffrey Toobin, one of three best-selling authors to headline JUF Trade Dinner season". Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago. Toobin, who is Jewish, is a CNN Senior Analyst, a judicial expert, a staff writer for The New Yorker, and a bestselling author.
  7. Clehane, Diane (October 10, 2007). "So What Do You Do, Jeffrey Toobin, Author?". Mediabistro. Archived from the original on October 12, 2007. Retrieved July 11, 2008.
  8. Mindell, Cindy (August 20, 2010). "Q & A with... Marlene Sanders". Jewish Ledger. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  9. Rosman, Katherine; Bernstein, Jacob (December 15, 2020). "The Undoing of Jeffrey Toobin". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  10. Jacobs, Samuel P. (June 4, 2007). "Jeffrey R. Toobin". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
  11. "Author and legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin '86 named this year's Class Day speaker". Harvard Law Today. May 23, 2013. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
  12. Eastland, Terry (May 1991). "Above the Constitution?". Commentary. Vol. 91 no. 5. pp. 60–62. Archived from the original on January 19, 2013. Retrieved August 7, 2010.
  13. Penguin Books USA, Inc.; Jeffrey R. Toobin v. Lawrence E. Walsh; Office of Independent Counsel, 929 F.2d 69 (United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit. March 1991).
  14. "Anchors & Reporters – Jeffrey Toobin". CNN. Retrieved August 6, 2010.
  15. "Toobin: Jackson courtroom 'like nothing I've ever seen'". CNN. January 16, 2004. Retrieved September 19, 2016.
  16. Elving, Ron (July 31, 2020). "In 'True Crimes,' Toobin Presents A Summation For The Jury In The Case Against Trump". NPR. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
  17. Diaz, Johnny; Paybarah, Azi (October 19, 2020). "New Yorker Suspends Jeffrey Toobin After Zoom Incident". The New York Times. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  18. Rush, George (February 17, 2010). "CNN legal eagle Jeffrey Toobin in baby mama drama – with daughter of CBS News' Jeff Greenfield". New York Daily News. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
  19. "Baby drama! CNN star Jeffrey Toobin offered Casey Greenfield money for abortion: sources". New York Daily News. May 8, 2010. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
  20. "Casey Greenfield, Matt Manfredi". The New York Times. November 21, 2004. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
  21. Finn, Robin (February 17, 2012). "Casey Greenfield v. the World". The New York Times. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
  22. Wigler, Josh (February 15, 2018). "How 'Altered Carbon' Brought its Breakout Character to Life". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
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