Politico reporter Ryan Rizza (former fiancée of New York Magazine political reporter Olivia Nuzzi, who was involved in a sexting scandal with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.) will remain at the magazine, but will no longer edit its high-profile newsletter. I won't do it again.
Riza announced that she would be “returning to her long-form magazine roots” by contributing longer articles to online publications.
“I will remain Politico’s chief Washington correspondent, but with a focus on in-depth features, profiles and interviews.” Riza wrote on her X account on Monday.
Rizza, 50, ran Playbook's newsletter until she was placed on leave last October after Nuzzi, 32, accused her of intimidation and harassment.
Politico denied that the confusion was related to the Nagy-Kennedy story.
“For more than a decade, a change in administration has brought new management of the playbook. A new strategy for a new Washington.” A Politico spokesperson told The Daily Beast.
According to the Daily Beast, the Playbook newsletter will now be led by Jack Blanchard, a veteran British correspondent for Politico.
POLITICO Editor-in-Chief John Harris said Rizza will now have a “special focus on writing for POLITICO magazine.”
The Post has reached out to Politico and Rizza, 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 Riza of hacking into his personal devices and attempting to coerce him into repairing their relationship by threatening to release personal information. Riza denies these allegations.
The controversy arose after Nuzzi, then a correspondent for New York Magazine, was reported to have had a months-long personal relationship with Kennedy, 70, while covering his independence campaign. It started from.
After the relationship was revealed in September, New York Magazine placed Nuzzi on leave and launched an outside review of her work.
A subsequent investigation conducted by the law firm Davis Wright Tremaine found no evidence of inaccuracy or bias in her report.
Nevertheless, the magazine and Nuzzi mutually agreed to part ways, citing concerns about journalistic ethics and the emergence of conflicts of interest.
New York editor-in-chief David Haskell said that if the magazine had known about the relationship, Nuzzi would not have been assigned to cover the Kennedy campaign.
The scandal led to the end of Nuzzi's engagement to Rizza, who is said to have discovered an affair with Kennedy.
Mr. Nuzzi filed for a protection order against Mr. Rizza, accusing him of hacking and extortion.
In her response, Riza claimed to have discovered that “Nuzzi was cheating on me with a married man.” [RFK Jr.] For almost a year. ”
“She admitted to having an affair and, over several weeks of conversations, described what she described as “toxic,” “unhealthy,'' “stupid,'' “mentally insane,'' “insane,'' and “indefensible'' relationships with a 70-year-old man. He revealed how they ended up in a relationship with a “sex addict'' who told her he wanted to “own'' her, “control'' her, and “get her pregnant.'' Court documents viewed by Page Six.
Nuzzi previously said Riza “stalked and surveilled me, gathering blackmail material to blackmail me into returning to the relationship, with the purpose of public ridicule and humiliation, and professional harm as punishment.” He accused her of “hacking” his device. When I don't get back into the relationship. ”
She also claimed he “used third party or anonymous channels” to inform his employer about the affair.
Riza has vehemently denied the allegations, saying, “I went to the editor and begged him to expose the affair before the editor found out on his own.''
In November, Nuzzi withdrew her request for a protective order, and her lawyer said she wanted to withdraw from the matter.
Kennedy, who was nominated by President-elect Donald Trump to be secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, denied having any relationship with Nzee.
Kennedy's statement read: “I met Olivia Nuzzi only once in my life for an interview she requested that resulted in a hit movie.”
Mr. Nuzzi maintained that his relationship with Mr. Kennedy was never physical, but acknowledged that it was personal in nature.
She said she regretted not disclosing the exchange to her superiors in New York sooner.
“There was never a physical relationship, but it should have been made public to prevent the appearance of a conflict,” Nuzzi said.
