Longtime New Yorker staff writer Jeffrey Toobin, who was suspended in mid-October after he exposed himself on a staff Zoom call, will not return to the magazine.
Stan Duncan, chief people officer for parent company Condé Nast, announced in a staff memo that an investigation into the star legal journalist’s behavior had concluded, though he didn’t say what the findings were.
In the memo, which was obtained by The Washington Post, Duncan simply said that “as a result [of the investigation], he is no longer affiliated with our company.”
Toobin said it more directly on Twitter, writing, “I was fired today by @NewYorker after 27 years as a Staff Writer. I will always love the magazine, will miss my colleagues, and will look forward to reading their work.”
In the memo, Duncan told employees, “I want to assure everyone that we take workplace matters seriously. We are committed to fostering an environment where everyone feels respected and upholds our standards of conduct.”
The New Yorker, where Toobin has worked since 1993, benched Toobin last month after colleagues saw him exposed during a video chat among staffers of the New Yorker and WNYC radio, as first reported by Vice last month. Toobin called it “an embarrassingly stupid mistake” that happened because he thought he was off-camera. CNN, which also employed him as chief legal analyst, said at the time that Toobin “has asked for some time off while he deals with a personal issue, which we have granted.” CNN did not immediately respond to The Post’s questions about Toobin’s latest status at the network Wednesday.
As CNN has aggressively covered the myriad legal challenges being made by President Donald Trump’s campaign over the vote counting that has won the White House for Joe Biden, Toobin has been a noticeable absence on CNN’s airwaves.