Before New York Magazine writer Olivia Nuzzi was suspended for allegedly sexting with RFK Jr, she was booted from Donald Trump’s hush-money criminal trial for taking photos against court rules, The Post has learned.
After her ejection on April 22, Nuzzi reported on the trial without informing readers she was banned from the 15th floor of the Manhattan criminal courthouse where it took place, her subsequent coverage shows.
Court officials removed Nuzzi after guards caught her snapping a photo – for the second time – in an adjacent room where reporters and some public attendees watched the trial on a monitor.
Officials gave Nuzzi a warning after the first offense, but she didn’t heed it.
“She was treated with deference originally, but continued taking photos despite the fact she was instructed and told not to,” another reporter who covered the trial told The Post.
But another reporter familiar with the second incident said Nuzzi whipped out her phone, after the trial ended for the day, to snap a photo of his shirt, which had the image of a dog on it, and guards “pounced on her.”
“She was not taking photos of the court proceedings. She did not intentionally violate the rules,” said the reporter, who asked to remain anonymous.
“Journalist Olivia Nuzzi was expelled for the remainder of the Trump proceedings for breaking rules prohibiting the taking of photographs in the audience overflow room at our criminal courthouse in Lower Manhattan,” spokesman Al Baker confirmed Friday.
What we know about Olivia Nuzzi’s relationship with RFK Jr.
- New York magazine’s star political correspondent Olivia Nuzzi was placed on leave over an alleged ‘sexting’ relationship with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
- The reporter admitted to a non-physical “personal relationship” with Kennedy scion.
- Nuzzi, 31, penned a profile on Kennedy, 70, that was published in November 2023, and sometime after that, the two reportedly began their alleged fling.
- Nuzzi’s fiancé, Politico correspondent Ryan Lizza, announced the couple had ended their engagement on Friday.
Under state law, the unauthorized televising or photographing of court proceedings is a misdemeanor, but Nuzzi and several other journalists caught breaking the rule during the Trump trial were not charged, records show.
Nuzzi’s ouster came more than a month before the trial ended with guilty verdicts against Trump on May 29.
She will also be barred from attending Trump’s sentencing, set for Nov. 26, officials said.
During the trial, journalists and other attendees needed a court-issued pass to get to the 15th floor, which was highly secured by the Secret Service and NYPD.
Photojournalists were permitted to shoot only facing Trump’s defense table, not from behind it where court personnel could be viewed.
Taking photos in the overflow room was also strictly prohibited,
Nuzzi did not take photos of court proceedings on the monitor in the overflow room, and the second offense involved photographing a friend after the trial was done for the day, said a source familiar with the incident.
New York Magazine did not return emails from The Post seeking comment on Nuzzi’s expulsion from the trial, and asking whether the magazine ever informed readers about it.
The magazine suspended Nuzzi after she admitted “the nature of some communications between myself and a former reporting subject turned personal,” a reference to RFK Jr. She denied a physical relationship.