Before she was suspended for allegedly sexting RFK Jr., New York Magazine reporter Olivia Nuzzi was barred from Donald Trump's hush money criminal trial for taking photos in violation of court rules, The Washington Post has learned.
After she was evicted on April 22, Nuzzi reported on the trial but failed to inform readers that she had been banned from the 15th floor of the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse where the trial was held. Subsequent reports show.
Court officials removed Nuzzi after a security guard spotted him taking a second photograph in an adjacent room where reporters and members of the public were watching the trial on monitors.
Authorities gave Nuzzi a warning after the first offense, but she ignored it.
“She was initially treated with respect, but continued to take photos despite being instructed and told not to do so,” another reporter who covered the trial told The Washington Post.
“Journalist Olivia Nuzzi has been removed from the Lower Manhattan Criminal Courtroom for the remainder of Mr. Trump's trial after violating rules prohibiting photography in the gallery,” spokesman Al Baker confirmed on Friday.
What we know about Olivia Nuzzi and RFK Jr.'s relationship
- Olivia Nuzzi, a star political reporter for New York magazine, has been placed on administrative leave following an alleged “sexting” relationship with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
- The reporter acknowledged having a non-physical “personal relationship” with a descendant of the Kennedy family.
- Nuzzi, 31, wrote a profile of Kennedy, 70, which was published in November 2023, and the pair reportedly began an affair shortly thereafter.
- Nuzzi's fiance, Politico reporter Ryan Lizza, announced the couple had ended their engagement on Friday.
State law prohibits unauthorized television or photography of court proceedings. Petty crime, But records show that Nuzzi and several other journalists caught violating the rules during the Trump trial were not charged.
Nuzzi's firing comes more than a month after Trump's trial ended on May 29 with a guilty verdict.
She will also be barred from attending Trump's sentencing hearing, scheduled for Nov. 26, officials said.
During the trial, journalists and other attendees needed court-issued passes to access the 15th floor, which was heavily guarded by the Secret Service and the NYPD.
Photojournalists were not allowed to film from behind where courtroom officials could see, and were only allowed to film facing Trump's defense table.
Photography is also strictly prohibited in the overflow room.
A source familiar with the case said Nuzzi did not film the trial on a monitor in an overflow room, and his second violation was taking photos of a friend after the day's trial ended.
New York magazine did not respond to an email from The Washington Post asking whether Nuzzi had been removed from the trial and whether the magazine had informed its readers.
The magazine suspended her after she acknowledged that “some interactions between me and a former interviewee became personal,” referring to RFK Jr., and denied any physical relationship.
