CNN analyst Jeffrey Toobin says Trump 'in a way, has already won' impeachment fight

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CNN's chief legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin responded to Thursday's House Judiciary Committee impeachment hearing by claiming that "in some ways" President Trump was already triumphant in his battle with Democrats.

"You know what struck me about this hearing was how Donald Trump, in a way, has already won," Toobin said while appearing on a CNN panel.

"How much did we hear about Hunter Biden? Over and over again about Hunter Biden?" Toobin added, referring to the son of former Vice President Joe Biden.

Republicans have continually pointed to the younger Biden in response to the controversy surrounding the president's relationship with Ukraine. Hunter Biden served on the board of a Ukrainian natural gas firm when his father pressured the eastern European nation to fire its top prosecutor, who happened to be investigating that firm.

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"And there are questions about Hunter Biden's behavior," Toobin said. He added that journalists saw an "incredible shift of emphasis" in the impeachment debate.

"It's going to be a real challenge for us as journalists to decide how much to follow along with this, but the idea that we are sitting here debating ... the impeachment of the president of the United States and over and over again we get all these questions about the behavior of Hunter Biden ... and I just don't know what our responsibility is as journalists because it's not the point, but this is the news," he said.

Toobin has been critical of Trump in the past but has also cast doubt on how Democrats handled impeachment.

His comments came as the House panel debated articles of impeachment against the president. House Democrats have led a months-long inquiry in which they have accused the president of withholding military aid from Ukraine until the Kiev government announced investigations into the Bidens. Both Trump and Biden have denied any wrongdoing.

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Political scientist Jeanne Zaino told Fox Nation that Democrats were shooting themselves in the foot with the impeachment push.

"What the Democrats will do is, they will clearly impeach him and he will be acquitted in the Senate," she said. "And I think they do themselves a disservice then because this will engage his base and energize his base to get out. He will use this, as we've seen him use it in the last few days on the campaign trail."