It takes a lot for a political scandal to shock Americans these days.
But somehow, politics never fails to live down to the low expectations held by the public.
And a 2024 election sex scandal just took this nasty turn.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. scandal ends up in court
70-year-old Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. faced allegations of a “sexting” affair with 31-year-old New York Magazine reporter Olivia Nuzzi.
The two allegedly had “FaceTime sex,” and the story broke just as Kennedy was about to hit the trail for a ramped up campaign schedule in support of Donald Trump.
Now the scandal is in front of a judge.
Nuzzi claimed in a court filing that her ex-fiance, POLITICO Chief Washington Correspondent Ryan Lizza, orchestrated a campaign of blackmail, harassment, and hacking to force her to resume their relationship.
In the court filing, Nuzzi alleged that Lizza “explicitly threatened to make public personal information about me to destroy my life, career, and reputation—a threat he has since carried out.”
Nuzzi claimed Lizza began his campaign back in July after learning about the relationship with Kennedy.
In the filing, Nuzzi claimed that Lizza “stole” one of her electronic devices to gain access to her communications.
Nuzzi also alleged that Lizza ran what amounted to an opposition research campaign against her by peddling details about her relationship with Kennedy to other media outlets in an attempt to hurt her career.
CNN reported the details:
She said by the next month, Lizza had stolen a personal electronic device from her, was hacking her devices, then anonymously shopping information about her to the media. Some of the information may have been “doctored” to hurt her more, Nuzzi alleged, and she believes Lizza impersonated “an anonymous campaign operative” to give a political campaign information that would hurt her further, according to the court records.
A sex scandal like none other
This is a very “2024” sex scandal in that there are allegations of an affair with no actual physical intimacy.
The relationship was conducted entirely over electronic communication.
Kennedy and Nuzzi only met once last year when she covered his campaign for a New York Magazine piece.
Their relationship began shortly thereafter.
Lizza – who is one of the deans of the liberal media establishment – denied all of Nuzzi’s allegations.
“I am saddened that my ex-fiancée would resort to making a series of false accusations against me as a way to divert attention from her own personal and professional failings. I emphatically deny these allegations and I will defend myself against them vigorously and successfully,” Lizza stated.
But POLITICO still put Lizza on the bench while it investigated.
“POLITICO and Ryan Lizza have mutually agreed that it is in everyone’s best interest for him to step back and take a leave of absence while an investigation is conducted,” a statement from POLITICO read.
This isn’t Lizza’s first scandal.
The New Yorker fired Lizza in 2017 when a woman came forward claiming sexual misconduct when the “Me Too” movement hit its full swing.
Lizza denied those allegations as well.
“I am dismayed that The New Yorker has decided to characterize a respectful relationship with a woman I dated as somehow inappropriate,” Lizza wrote in an email to the New York Times back in 2017. “The New Yorker was unable to cite any company policy that was violated.”
