Politico reporter Ryan Lizza, ex-fiancé of New York Magazine political reporter Olivia Nuzzi, who was embroiled in a sex scandal with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. – will remain in publication, although he will no longer edit his high-profile newsletter.
Lizza announced that he will be “returning to my longform magazine roots” by contributing longer pieces to the online publication.
“I will remain Politico’s Chief Washington Correspondent, but with a focus on in-depth features, profiles and interviews,” Lizza wrote on his X account Monday.
Lizza, 50, was in charge of the Playbook newsletter before being put on leave last October after Nuzzi, 32, accused her of blackmail and harassment.
Politico denied that the change was related to the Nuzzi-Kennedy saga.
“For more than a decade, there has been a new administration of the Playbook with a change of administration. A new book for a new Washington,” a Politico spokesperson told the Daily Beast.
The Playbook newsletter will now be led by Jack Blanchard, Politico’s veteran UK reporter, according to the Daily Beast.
John Harris, editor-in-chief of Politico, revealed that Lizza will place a “special emphasis on contributing to POLITICO magazine” going forward.
The Post has reached out to Politico and Lizza, a former CNN political analyst whose byline has appeared in publications such as the New Yorker and the New Republic, for comment.
Nuzzi had accused Lizza of hacking into her personal devices and trying to force her to rekindle their relationship by threatening to release personal information. Lizza has denied these accusations.
The controversy began when Nuzzi, then a correspondent for New York Magazine, was reported to have engaged in a months-long affair with Kennedy, 70, while covering his independent presidential campaign.
After the relationship was revealed in September, New York Magazine placed Nuzzi on leave and launched an external review of her work.
A subsequent investigation by law firm Davis Wright Tremaine found no inaccuracies or evidence of bias in her reporting.
However, the magazine and Nuzzi mutually agreed to part ways, citing concerns over journalistic ethics and the appearance of a conflict of interest.
David Haskell, New York editor-in-chief, said Nuzzi would not have been assigned to cover the Kennedy campaign if the publication had known about the relationship.
The scandal led to the breakdown of Nuzzi’s engagement to Lizza, who is said to have revealed her relationship with Kennedy.
Nuzzi filed a protective order against Lizza, accusing him of hacking and blackmail.
In his response, Lizza claimed he revealed, “Nuzzi had cheated on me with a married man. [RFK Jr.] for almost a year.”
“She admitted to the relationship, and over the course of weeks of conversations she shared how she fell into what she described as a ‘toxic’, ‘unhealthy’, ‘stupid’ ‘psychotic’, ‘crazy’ ‘vulnerable’ relationship with a 70 – year old. ‘sex addict’ who told her he wanted to ‘possess’, ‘control’ and ‘impregnate’ her, he claims in court. first letter from Page six.
Nuzzi previously accused Lizza of “hacking” her devices with the “purpose of stalking and surveilling me and gathering material to use as blackmail to scare me back into a relationship and to cause ridicule and public humiliation as well as professional damage as a punishment if I would not return to the relationship.”
She also claimed that he “used a third party or anonymous channel” to inform her employer about the matter.
Lizza has vehemently denied the allegations – and said he “begged her to go to her editors and reveal her affair before they found out themselves”.
In November, Nuzzi withdrew her request for the protective order, with her attorney stating that she wished to withdraw from the case.
Kennedy, who has been nominated by President-elect Donald Trump to serve as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, denied having an affair with Nuzzi.
A statement from Kennedy said he “met Olivia Nuzzi only once in his life for an interview she requested, which was successful.”
Nuzzi admitted to having communications with Kennedy that were personal in nature, though she insisted the relationship was never physical.
She expressed regret for not disclosing the interaction earlier to her bosses in New York.
“The relationship was never physical, but it should have been disclosed to prevent a conflict from occurring,” Nuzzi said.
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