Politico reporter Ryan Lizza — the previous fiancé of New York Journal political reporter Olivia Nuzzi, who was concerned in a sexting scandal with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — will stay on the publication, although he’ll now not edit its high-profile e-newsletter.
Lizza introduced that he shall be “returning to my long-form magazine roots” by contributing extra prolonged items for the net publication.
“I’ll remain Politico’s Chief Washington Correspondent but with a focus on in-depth features, profiles, and interview,” Lizza wrote on his X account on Monday.
Lizza, 50, was answerable for the Playbook e-newsletter earlier than he was positioned on depart final October after the 32-year-old Nuzzi accused him of blackmail and harassment.
Politico denied that the shakeup was related to the Nuzzi-Kennedy saga.
“For more than a decade now, there has been a new stewardship of Playbook with a change of Administration. A new Playbook for a new Washington,” a Politico spokesperson instructed Each day Beast.
The Playbook e-newsletter will now be helmed by Jack Blanchard, Politico’s veteran UK reporter, in keeping with the Each day Beast.
John Harris, Politico editor-in-chief, revealed that Lizza will put a “special emphasis on contributing to POLITICO Magazine” going ahead.
The Put up has sought remark from Politico and Lizza, a former political analyst for CNN whose byline has appeared in publications comparable to New Yorker and New Republic.
Nuzzi had accused Lizza of hacking into her private units and trying to coerce her into rekindling their relationship by threatening to launch private data. Lizza has denied these allegations.
The controversy started when Nuzzi, then a correspondent for New York Journal, was reported to have engaged in a months-long, private relationship with Kennedy, 70, whereas protecting his impartial presidential marketing campaign.
Upon disclosure of the connection in September, New York Journal positioned Nuzzi on depart and initiated an exterior evaluation of her work.
A subsequent investigation carried out by the legislation agency Davis Wright Tremaine discovered no inaccuracies or proof of bias in her reporting.
Nonetheless, the journal and Nuzzi mutually agreed to half methods, citing considerations over journalistic ethics and the looks of a battle of curiosity.
David Haskell, New York editor-in-chief, mentioned Nuzzi wouldn’t have been assigned to cowl Kennedy’s marketing campaign had the publication been conscious of the connection.
The scandal led to the dissolution of Nuzzi’s engagement to Lizza, who is alleged to have found her relationship with Kennedy.
Nuzzi filed a protecting order towards Lizza, accusing him of hacking and blackmail.
In his response, Lizza alleged that he found, “Nuzzi had been cheating on me with a married man [RFK Jr.] for almost a year.”
“She admitted the affair and over the course of weeks of conversations she confided how she fell into what she described as a ‘toxic’ ‘unhealthy’ ‘stupid’ ‘psychotic’ ‘crazy’ ‘indefensible’ relationship with a 70-year-old ‘sex addict’ who told her he wanted to ‘possess,’ ‘control,’ and ‘impregnate’ her,” he claims in courtroom papers seen by Web page Six.
Nuzzi beforehand accused Lizza of getting “hacked” her units for “the purpose of stalking and surveilling me and to collect materials to employ as blackmail to intimidate me back into a relationship, and to inflict public ridicule and humiliation as well as professional damage as punishment when I would not return to the relationship.”
She has additionally claimed he, “utilized a third party or anonymous channel,” to tell her employer in regards to the affair.
Lizza has fervently denied the allegations — and mentioned that he “pleaded with her to go to her editors and disclose her affair before they found out about it on their own.”
In November, Nuzzi withdrew her petition for the protecting order, together with her legal professional stating that she wished to maneuver on from the matter.
Kennedy, who has been nominated by President-elect Donald Trump to function secretary of the Division of Well being and Human Companies, denied having a relationship with Nuzzi.
A press release from Kennedy learn that he “only met Olivia Nuzzi once in his life for an interview she requested, which yielded a hit piece.”
Nuzzi acknowledged sustaining communications with Kennedy that had been private in nature although she insisted that the connection was by no means bodily.
She expressed remorse for not disclosing the interplay earlier to her bosses at New York.
“The relationship was never physical but should have been disclosed to prevent the appearance of a conflict,” Nuzzi mentioned.
