Writer Jeffrey Toobin, in a 2012 file image.Charles Dharapak / AP
The New Yorker
suspended writer Jeffrey Toobin from his job on Monday pending investigation of the incident that occurred during a Zoom call between magazine staff and WNYC radio journalists in which they rehearsed the preparation of a podcast for the election night coverage.
During the virtual meeting, Toobin showed his private parts on camera, according to an employee of the Vice website who was on the call, and who was the one who first reported the event.
During a pause in the common call, Toobin switched to another communication, which is where the episode involving phone sex occurred.
The magazine's writer, whose salary has also been suspended, issued a statement on Monday afternoon: "I have made a shamefully stupid mistake, I thought I was out of the camera," said the lawyer and political analyst of the CNN chain.
"I apologize to my wife, my family, my friends and my colleagues," the message continued.
"I thought I had the Zoom video turned off," he added, ending by emphasizing that he was convinced that no one on the call with
The New Yorker
and WNYC could see him.
Toobin, 60, has not provided the identity of the person he was with in the other call in which he showed his penis, according to the American media.
These same media claim that when an email was sent to Toobin's account at
The New Yorker
requesting comment, the account returned a message that marked the email as "undeliverable."
The writer has not posted to his public account on the social network Twitter since October 13.
A spokeswoman for
The New Yorker
magazine
,
where Toobin has worked for more than 25 years, reported in a statement that the writer "had been suspended while the matter was being investigated."
Toobin is a veteran CNN legal affairs analyst.
The information television network, where he has worked since 2002, stated that the commentator had requested permission from the station to deal "with a personal matter."
According to those present in Zoom's conversation, upon returning from the break, Toobin seemed oblivious to what had happened, unaware of what his companions had seen.
Toobin has written several books, including
The People v.
OJ Simpson: American Crime Story
(
The People vs. OJ Simpson: American crime story
), which became a popular television series that won nine Emmy awards.
His latest book,
True Crimes and Misdemeanors: The Donald Trump Investigation,
was published in August by Penguin Random House.
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