Jeffrey Toobin, the veteran legal analyst and writer who has opined on cases and the courts for CNN since 2002, appears to have offered his last testimony at the Warner Bros. Discovery-backed news outlet.
In a letter sent Friday to colleagues, Toobin revealed that he is parting ways with CNN, which has backed him in good times and bad. CNN placed Toobin on leave in the fall of 2020 after he acknowledged exposing himself during a video call with staffers from The New Yorker, where he had been working since 1993. Toobin and the Conde Nast publication cut ties, but CNN put its contributor back on the air in June of 2021 after a months-long leave. When he reappeared, he told CNN anchor Alisyn Camerota that “I hope to be a better person off camera as well as on camera.”
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Toobin, an attorney, has become a celebrated writer over the years, and one of his books became the basis for a popular FX series about the trial of disgraced football great O.J. Simpson.
”I wanted to let you know that after twenty years I’ve decided to leave CNN after my vacation. It was great to spend my last day on air, like so many before, with my pals at Sit Room, AC360 and Don Lemon Tonight. It’s been a privilege (and fun) being your colleague,” Toobin wrote. “The work of CNN is enormously important, and I know you’ll continue doing it with the same passion and intelligence as always.”
He also indicated he was working on a book about the Oklahoma City bombing, due out next year.
It remains unclear as to whether Toobin’s contract with CNN had lapsed, but the exit appears to be the result of a mutual agreement.
“We are grateful for Jeffrey’s contributions to the network over the years and wish him all the best in his future endeavors,” CNN said in a statement.
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