Anderson Cooper had to take timeout before the debate even started to try and shoot down a story that he was "in the tank" for Hillary Clinton. 

Cooper was forced to respond to an accusation that he is too close to the Clintons after a story was posted on the Weekly Standard that Cooper was listed as a “notable past member” for a 2007 conference he moderated at the Clinton Global Initiative. 

Cooper went on with CNN's Jake Tapper to try and downplay the story.