Making his second appearance on this space in less than 24 hours, chief CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin trashed Republican Congressman Jim Jordan (Ohio) during Thursday’s Anderson Cooper 360 for being “the worst” in his questioning of Hillary Clinton and acting “unprofessional,” “misleading,” and “demeaning.”
Reacting to Jordan speaking with CNN’s Dana Bash moments beforehand, Toobin began his diatribe by whining that the conservative member of Congress “was clearly the worst, the most unprofessional, the most misleading, the most really demeaning to the Congress in terms of his questioning.”
Toobin further accused Jordan of being “really actively, misleading about the evidence that was present” when, initially: “I thought, you know, the questioning at first, was actually about something important. It was about the policy in Libya. It was about whether the protection was adequate.”
He further complained that it was following a period of time in the 11-hour hearing when it became Jordan’s turn that he “really went after Hillary Clinton” and “turned into this really repulsive spectacle that I think will really redound very poorly for the Congress and I don't know if it's going to help Hillary Clinton or not, but the idea of congressional investigations which actually has a pretty noble history in the United States, has really been demeaned by the second half of the testimony today.”
Earlier in the program just minutes after the hearing concluded, former Clinton administration official David Gergen observed that the hearing was “very, very disturbing” because he couldn’t recall a secretary of state from recent history who was “ever grilled and be badgered the she was tonight for 11 hours she’s been up there in these hearings and this was an unprecedented kind grilling.”
He then added before being cut-off by host Anderson Cooper: “I hope we never see one like this again.”
The relevant portions of the transcript from CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 on October 22 can be found below.
Anderson Cooper 360
October 22, 2015
9:04 p.m. Eastern
ANDERSON COOPER: David, first, anyone say to this committee isn't divided along partisan lines, I mean, Republicans, you know, clearly going after Hillary Clinton being as tough as they could, Democrats, you know, being as gentle as they could here. What did you – did anything for you new come out of this?
DAVID GERGEN: No, not a ton of information. I'll tell you, Anderson, I'm sure there are conservatives who will be cheered by the hearings. They will think she's basically gotten a free pass on a lot of Benghazi and good for Republicans to press in but I think a great number of other Americans and I'm in this group will find that these hearings were very, very disturbing. I cannot remember a secretary of state to back to Carl’s point, I can't remember a secretary of state in modern times ever grilled and be badgered the she was tonight for 11 hours she’s been up there in these hearings and this was an unprecedented kind grilling. I hope we never see one like this again.
COOPER: You think it was unfair?
GERGEN: I'm not sure unfairness. I just thought there was sort of a brutal quality about it that – badgering quality and to take everything and she said in the worst possible light to try to accuse her of not caring enough the fact she went home somehow the night of the Benghazi attack.
(.....)
COOPER: Jeff, I mean, legally speaking we haven't heard from you, is there anything new to this? Is there anything to this or in your opinion, is this politics?
JEFFREY TOOBIN: This is politics and I'm reallly glad Dana had a chance to talk to Representative Jordan because I think he was clearly the worst, the most unprofessional, the most misleading, the most really demeaning to the Congress in terms of his questioning. You know, really actively, misleading about the evidence that was present and I thought, you know, the questioning at first, was actually about something important. It was about the policy in Libya. It was about whether the protection was adequate but towards the end when Representative Jordan really went after Hillary Clinton, it turned into this really repulsive spectacle that I think will really redound very poorly for the Congress and I don't know if it's going to help Hillary Clinton or not, but the idea of congressional investigations which actually has a pretty noble history in the United States, has really been demeaned by the second half of the testimony today.
