Olivia Nuzzi’s ex Ryan Lizza returned from journalism purgatory on Monday with a new Substack publication, using his first post to bash his former employer Politico and tease “big ambitions.”
In his first post for “Telos News,” Lizza said he left Politico after he thought the outlet was “not meeting the unprecedented moment of democratic peril we are facing.” He promised Telos would “cover the crisis in Washington with a clear-eyed understanding of what is actually happening.”
Lizza said the outlet would publish a “lengthy investigative article” this week on the administration’s pursuit to “silence its press critics.”
Lizza, formerly Politico’s chief Washington correspondent and an anchor of its flagship Playbook newsletter, took a leave of absence last year after Nuzzi accused him of physical and sexual abuse in an explosive court case. The saga ended in November after Nuzzi dropped her court case.
It came weeks after Nuzzi’s secret, monthslong relationship with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. became public. Kennedy is now the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
The relationship was first reported was Status’ Oliver Darcy, who Lizza thanked in his introductory post as one of a “generous group of independent writers who I consulted and pestered over the last few months.“
Lizza joins a growing list of media personalities launching independent blogs, such as former MSNBC host Chris Matthews’ new “Hardball” revival on Substack.
Lizza returned to Politico in January, promising in an X post to return to his “long-form magazine roots” with “in-depth features, profiles, and interviews.” He would no longer write Playbook, ceding the title to Politico‘s British writer Jack Blanchard.
But Lizza never published anything after his return, and he has since deleted his X post.
A source familiar with the matter said Politico expected Lizza’s return to be short-lived, as an internal change like departing Playbook would likely cause someone to reevaluate their career. “It did leave him, I think, searching for real purpose in what he does next,” the source said.
But they disputed the idea Lizza’s exit had anything to do with the Nuzzi saga. “He didn’t leave under any kind of drama,” they added.
Lizza did not respond to an immediate request for comment.
In his lengthy introductory post, Lizza took Politico to task for how it responded to DOGE’s false claims that the government was subsidizing the outlet by paying for its premium, policy-focused subscription service.
He called Politico‘s decision to send White House bureau chief Dasha Burns to conduct an on-stage interview at CPAC a “regrettable mistake” intended to smooth things over with the Trump administration.
“I saw up close how easy it was for a media conglomerate to grovel before the Trump administration when the wrong people are in charge,” Lizza wrote.
Politico did not respond to an immediate request for comment.
The exit is the latest in a series of high-profile departures for the D.C.-based politics outlet after some of its staffers clashed with the editorial leadership of editor-in-chief John Harris and senior executive editor Alex Burns.
This year alone, it has lost top reporters Meredith McGraw, Olivia Beavers, and Gavin Bade to The Wall Street Journal and congressional reporters Ursula Perano and Daniella Diaz to Politico founder Robert Allbritton’s NOTUS. Former Playbook co-anchor and White House Correspondents’ Association president Eugene Daniels also left for an MSNBC anchor job last month.
The post D.C. Reporter Caught in RFK Sex Storm Torches Politico on Exit appeared first on The Daily Beast.
