Olivia Nuzzi and Ryan Lizza will face each other in court again next month after failed attempts to end their feud over her alleged blackmailing over her phone sex relationship with Robert F Kennedy Jr.
A Washington, DC judge said Tuesday that the former couple’s negotiations “do not appear to be fruitful” and that they would meet again on November 19.
New York magazine reporter Nuzzi and Lizza, Politico’s chief Washington correspondent, appeared via video link in federal court.
Nuzzi was wearing a black top and was sitting in a living room. Lizza wore a dark jacket and a light blue sweater in the video.
Judge Sean Staples was skeptical of Nuzzi’s claims that he could not testify because of an ongoing FBI investigation into his claims.
New York magazine reporter Olivia Nuzzi and her ex-fiancé Ryan Lizza failed to show up for a court hearing Tuesday over her “emotional affair” with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The romance with Robert Kennedy Jr. did not lead to physical intimacy, but Nuzzi and the former presidential candidate are said to have shared “incredible” FaceTime and sexting sessions.
In a legal filing, Nuzzi asked for a continuance because he is “actively participating” in an FBI investigation.
But Staples said he knew of “no legal impediment” to Nuzzi testifying.
‘She filed this case. You can pursue him or not,” the judge said.
In his submission, Nuzzi, 31, said he was “unable to participate in any cross-examination at this time” and therefore his “ability to testify is hindered.”
Both parties have now retained Nuzzi and are represented by Maryland-based personal injury attorney Erik Walter.
Lizza, 50, is represented by legal heavy hitter Simon Latcovich at Williams & Connolly LLP, whose previous clients include former CIA director David Petreaus.
Latcovich told the judge that Lizza was ready to have the hearing right away.
Nuzzi accused Lizza of stealing his electronic devices to access personal information about her romance with RFK Jr. before going to the media with the ‘altered’ information and is taking him to court to claim damages.
He said Nuzzi’s claims were “baseless” and that Lizza “wants to present her case.”
Latcovich said; ‘Every day these claims go unanswered, there are people who assume there is some truth in them. “That’s why Ms. Nuzzi leaked her protective order to CNN.”
The former lovebirds were due to appear in court on Tuesday to make a decision on a no-contact order a judge placed on her for allegedly blackmailing her over her phone sex relationship with Robert F Kennedy Jr.
But after the case was not called, the clerk of the District of Columbia Superior Court said the matter was “under negotiation.”
That means the two sides are working with a judicial mediator to resolve the dispute.
If they can’t, they will go before Staples, the associate presiding judge for domestic violence matters, to decide whether to renew the no-contact order or dismiss it.
The hour-long hearing was expected to be an opportunity for the Washington correspondent to present his side of the story to the court.
Instead, both sides appeared to be making an effort to reach an amicable resolution on what happens next with the order, which expires Tuesday and would have to be renewed by the judge.
In mid-August, Lizza “explicitly threatened to release personal information about me to destroy my life, career, and reputation, a threat she has carried out ever since,” Nuzzi claims.
In legal documents, the senior reporter said Lizza began harassing her in early July.
Nuzzi was suspended by New York magazine last month after the scandal with former independent presidential candidate Kennedy became public.
The affair did not progress to physical intimacy, but Nuzzi and the ex-RFK are said to have shared ‘amazing’ FaceTime and sexting sessions.
He accused Lizza of stealing his electronic devices to gain access to personal information before going to the media with the “altered” information, and would take him to court to claim compensation.
In legal documents, the lead reporter said Lizza began harassing her in early July.
Court documents do not mention Kennedy by name.
“Over the last few months, it is my understanding that he began hacking into my devices for the purpose of stalking, surveilling me, and collecting materials” in order to “blackmail and intimidate me into a relationship again,” Nuzzi said in court documents.
In mid-August, Lizza “explicitly threatened to release personal information about me to destroy my life, career and reputation, a threat she has carried out ever since,” Nuzzi said.
He also alleged that Lizza posed as an “anonymous campaign operative” to exchange information with other journalists.
Nuzzi even claims that some information may have been “tweaked” to make it look worse.
In addition to this, the scorned reporter alleges that Lizza tipped off New York magazine, possibly through a third party, and threatened her with violence “to get her to assume her share of financial responsibility for a book deal they had together.”
Nuzzi and Lizza got engaged in September 2022. He announced it was more than two years later.
A judge granted Nuzzi a temporary no-contact order and will allow police guards to accompany her while she retrieves her belongings from the home they once shared.
The scorned reporter alleges that Lizza tipped off New York magazine, possibly through a third party, and threatened her with violence “to assume her share of financial responsibility for a book deal they had together.”
In previous statements, Lizza denied her ex-partner’s accusations.
He said: “I am saddened that my ex-fiancee has resorted to making a series of false accusations against me as a way to divert attention from her own personal and professional failures. I emphatically deny these allegations and will defend myself against them vigorously and successfully.”
Nuzzi previously admitted that conversations between her and RFK Jr. “got personal.”
In a statement, he said: “The relationship was never physical, but should have been revealed to avoid the appearance of a conflict.”
“I deeply regret not doing so immediately and apologize to those I have disappointed, especially my New York colleagues (magazine).”
Nuzzi previously admitted that conversations between her and RFK Jr. “got personal”
As the former couple continues their court battle, RFK Jr.’s wife, Cheryl Hines, 59, is by his side as he mourns the death of his mother, Ethel, 96, whose funeral they attended together in Massachusetts on Monday.
The relationship is said to have started after Nuzzi interviewed RFK Jr. for a magazine interview.
She was said to be “madly in love” with RFK Jr., but he denied any kind of relationship and said she continued to contact him even after he blocked her.
In 2022, the correspondent became engaged to Nuzzi, who announced their engagement on Instagram with a series of videos showing off a huge solitaire cut sparkler on her ring finger.
Nuzzi, who announced her engagement in 2022 on Instagram with a series of videos showing a huge solitaire cut sparkler on her ring finger.
The former couple were due to publish a book together about the 2020 election that has since stalled.
As the former couple continues their court battle, RFK Jr.’s wife, Cheryl Hines, 59, is by his side as he mourns the death of his mother, Ethel, 96, whose funeral they attended together in Massachusetts on Monday.
The former couple were due to publish a book together about the 2020 election that has since stalled.
New York magazine has said it placed Nuzzi on leave while it conducted a “third-party review.”
The publication has said he admitted to having “a personal relationship with a former subject relevant to the 2024 campaign while reporting on the campaign.”
Politico said its editors and Lizza “mutually agreed that it is in everyone’s best interest for him to step back and take a leave of absence while an investigation takes place.”