Reporter on leave over alleged RFK relationship

What happened

New York magazine said last night it has placed star political reporter Olivia Nuzzi on leave after she acknowledged engaging in a "personal relationship with a former subject relevant to the 2024 campaign" while reporting on the campaign, a "violation of the magazine's standards." Media reporter Oliver Darcy said, and The New York Times and CNN confirmed, that the relationship was with Robert Kennedy Jr.

Who said what

The relationship started early this year, after Nuzzi's November 2023 profile of Kennedy, Darcy said. In the article, she said Kennedy's third-party bid could "turn the presidential race upside down." 

Nuzzi, 31, said in a statement that "some communication between myself and a former reporting subject turned personal" earlier this year, though "the relationship was never physical" and she "did not directly report on the subject nor use them as a source" during that time. In March, Nuzzi told Frank Bruni at the Times that the 2024 election was a "three-man race" and RFK Jr. was "polling competitively" and "steadily gaining ballot access across the country," blaming the "establishment press" for declining to "cover Kennedy like a serious contender" because he's "'an anti-vaxxer.'"

A representative for Kennedy, 70, said RFK Jr. "only met Olivia Nuzzi once in his life for an interview she requested, which yielded a hit piece." CNN's Brian Stelter, citing a person with direct knowledge, said the relationship was "emotional and digital in nature."

What next?

New York said an "internal review of her published work" found "no inaccuracies nor evidence of bias," and it's "conducting a more thorough third-party review." Nuzzi's most recent feature was a September interview with Donald Trump, whom Kennedy endorsed after ending his presidential bid in August.

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