Jeffrey Toobin

Jeffrey Toobin

Toobin at the 2012 Texas Book Festival
Born Jeffrey Ross Toobin
(1960-05-21) May 21, 1960
New York City, New York
Education Harvard University
Occupation Legal analyst, Commentator
Notable credit(s) The New Yorker (1993–)
CNN Senior Legal Analyst (2002–)
Spouse(s) Amy Bennett McIntosh (1986-present)
Children 3

Jeffrey Ross Toobin[1] (born May 21, 1960) is an American lawyer, author, and legal analyst for CNN and The New Yorker.[2]

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

Early life

Toobin was born in New York City in 1960,[3] the son of former ABC News and CBS News correspondent Marlene Sanders, and news broadcasting producer Jerome Toobin. His mother's family was of a relatively secular Jewish background.[4]

Education

Toobin was educated at Columbia Grammar School, which later changed its name to Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School, a private college preparatory school in New York City, and at Harvard College. At Harvard, he covered sports for The Harvard Crimson, where his column was titled "Inner Toobin". In 1982, he graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in classics, and earned a Truman Scholarship. In 1986, he graduated from Harvard Law School magna cum laude with a J.D.; he had been an editor of the Harvard Law Review.

Career

Toobin began freelancing for The New Republic while a law student. He went on to become a law clerk to a federal judge and to work as an associate counsel to Independent Counsel Lawrence Edward Walsh during the Iran-Contra affair and Oliver North's criminal trial, before becoming an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Brooklyn.[5] According to journalist Michael Isikoff, Toobin was caught “having absconded with large loads of classified and grand-jury related documents" from Walsh's office.[6] Toobin disputed the assertion that he improperly removed documents.

Toobin wrote a book about his work in the Office of Independent Counsel. Walsh objected to his decision to do so, and Toobin went to court to vindicate his right to publish. Judge John Keenan of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York wrote an opinion vindicating the rights of Toobin and his publisher to release Toobin's book. The appeal of the case was dismissed.[7]

Walsh later wrote that he "could understand a young lawyer wanting to keep copies of his own work, but not copying material from the general files or the personal files of others."[6] 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 Walsh) and abandoned the practice of law.”[6] He then took up his post in 1993 at The New Yorker and became a television legal analyst for ABC in 1994.

Toobin has provided broadcast legal analysis on many high-profile cases, including Michael Jackson's 2005 child molestation trial,[8] the O.J. Simpson civil case, and the Starr investigation of President Clinton. In 1994, Toobin broke the story in The New Yorker that the O. J. Simpson legal team planned to play "the race card" by accusing Mark Fuhrman of planting evidence.[9] He received a 2000 Emmy Award for his coverage of the Elián González custody saga.

Toobin joined CNN in 2002.[9] In 2003, he secured the first interview with Martha Stewart about the insider trading charges against her.[2]

Toobin is a longtime friend of Supreme Court justice Elena Kagan's, having met her while the two were classmates at Harvard Law School.[10] He has described Chief Justice John Roberts as "very, very conservative."[11] Regarding Justice Clarence Thomas, Toobin has said that Thomas' legal views were "highly unusual and extreme", called him "a nut," and said that Justice Thomas was "furious all the time."[12][13]

In March 2009, Politico revealed that Toobin was a member of the private discussion group JournoList, where "several hundred left-leaning bloggers, political reporters, magazine writers, policy wonks and academics...talked stories and compared notes."[14][15]

Toobin currently is a staff writer at The New Yorker, a senior analyst for CNN since 2002, and the author of five books. Toobin's book, The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court (2007), has received awards from the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism and the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University.[9]

Personal life

In 1986, Toobin married Amy Bennett McIntosh. Paul Attanasio was best man, and Anne-Marie Slaughter was matron of honor. Toobin met Amy while they worked at the Harvard Crimson together in college. She is a 1980 Harvard graduate, holds an MBA from Harvard Business School,[1][16] and has held executive positions at Verizon and Zagat Survey.[17] They have two children.[17]

Toobin had a long-term extramarital affair with Casey Greenfield, daughter of American television journalist and author Jeff Greenfield. Toobin was eventually confirmed as the father of Casey's child, named Roderick (b. March 2009). Greenfield has sole custody.[17][18]

Bibliography

References

  1. 1 2 "J.R. Toobin Weds Amy B. McIntosh". The New York Times. 1986-06-01. Retrieved 2008-07-11.
  2. 1 2 "Contributors: Jeffrey Toobin". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2010-08-06.
  3. "So What Do You Do, Jeffrey Toobin, Author?". 2007-10-10. Retrieved 2008-07-11.
  4. Jewish Ledger (Connecticut edition): "Q & A with… Marlene Sanders - Award-winning woman pioneer in broadcasting" By Cindy Mindell August 20, 2010
  5. Jeffrey Toobin (1991-05-01). "Opening Arguments". Commentary. Retrieved 2010-08-07.
  6. 1 2 3 Gosztola, Kevin (2013-08-20) Jeffrey Toobin Preaches on Sanctity of Government Secrets Despite Once Stealing Classified Documents, Firedoglake
  7. "929 F.2d 69 (1991), PENGUIN BOOKS USA INCORPORATED; Jeffrey R. Toobin, Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. Lawrence E. WALSH; Office of Independent Counsel, Defendants-Appellants".
  8. "CNN.com - Toobin: Jackson courtroom 'like nothing I've ever seen' - Jan. 16, 2004". www.cnn.com. Retrieved 2016-09-19.
  9. 1 2 3 "Anchors/Reporters – Jeffrey Toobin". CNN. Retrieved 2010-08-06.
  10. Shister, Gail (2010-05-12). "CNN's Jeffrey Toobin on Elena Kagan: 'Funny, well-informed...She's Good Company'". TV Newser.
  11. "Charlie Rose". 2010-10-04. PBS. Missing or empty |series= (help)
  12. "The Diane Rehm Show". 1 October 2007. NPR. Missing or empty |series= (help)
  13. "Anderson Cooper 360°". 1 October 2007. CNN. Missing or empty |series= (help)
  14. Calderone, Michael (2009-03-17). "JournoList: Inside the echo chamber". Politico.
  15. Kurtz, Howard (2010-07-23). "Getting the message on Journolist's controversial postings". The Washington Post. In the latest Daily Caller piece, Journolist members were shown objecting to John McCain picking Palin as his running mate. Jeffrey Toobin of CNN and the New Yorker: what a joke...I always thought that some part of McCain doesn’t want to be president, and this choice proves my point. Welcome back, Admiral Stockdale
  16. The Harvard Crimson: "Jeffrey R. Toobin" By Samuel P. Jacobs Monday, June 04, 2007
  17. 1 2 3 Rush, George (February 17, 2010). "CNN legal eagle Jeffrey Toobin in baby mama drama – with daughter of CBS News' Jeff Greenfield". Daily News (New York). Retrieved Feb 23, 2014.
  18. New York Times: "Casey Greenfield v. the World" By ROBIN FINN February 17, 2012
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