New York Magazine places reporter on leave after alleged relationship with RFK Jr.
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(NEW YORK) — New York Magazine placed its Washington correspondent, Olivia Nuzzi, on leave this week after it learned she allegedly “had engaged in a personal relationship with a former subject relevant to the 2024 campaign while she was reporting on the campaign,” the outlet said in a statement.
According to the news outlet Status, the relationship was allegedly with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the independent candidate who suspended his campaign last month and endorsed former President Donald Trump.
In its statement, New York Magazine did not name Kennedy, and a spokeswoman for the outlet did not respond to an ABC News request to confirm that he is in fact the subject in question.
But in statements, neither Nuzzi nor a Kennedy representative denied Status’ reporting that Kennedy was involved.
“Earlier this year, the nature of some communication between myself and a former reporting subject turned personal,” Nuzzi said in a statement. “During that time, I did not directly report on the subject nor use them as a source. The relationship was never physical but should have been disclosed to prevent the appearance of a conflict. I deeply regret not doing so immediately and apologize to those I’ve disappointed, especially my colleagues at New York.”
Stefanie Spear, a Kennedy spokeswoman, told ABC News in a statement, “Mr. Kennedy only met Olivia Nuzzi once in his life for an interview she requested, which yielded a hit piece.”
Spear did not respond to a follow-up question about whether Kennedy denies the allegation of a romantic relationship.
A profile by Nuzzi of Kennedy, in which she hiked with the candidate near his southern California home, published in November.
At the time, Kennedy had recently dropped his Democratic presidential bid to run as an independent and was polling promisingly in swing states.
But a cash shortage and a wave of unflattering headlines blunted his campaign.
Kennedy is married to the actress Cheryl Hines, who has not commented publicly on the alleged relationship.
Nuzzi’s ex-fiancée, Ryan Lizza, Politico’s Chief Washington Correspondent, wrote in the Friday’s “Playbook” newsletter, “Because of my connection to this story through my ex-fiancee, my editors and I have agreed that I won’t be involved in any coverage of Kennedy in Playbook or elsewhere at POLITICO.”
(WASHINGTON) — The House unanimously on Friday approved a bill that would require the Secret Service to apply equal standards of protection to major presidential candidates and sitting presidents, a move that comes in the wake of two assassination attempts on former President Trump.
The final tally was 405-0 in favor of the bill. Only two-thirds majority was required for the measure to pass.
The bill was first introduced following the first assassination attempt in July by Reps. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., and Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y.
It now heads to the Senate where its fate is uncertain. The Senate would likely not be able to take it up until after the 2024 election.
The House also officially expanded the jurisdiction of the Task Force investigating the Butler, PA assassination attempt against former President Trump to also include the second assassination attempt at Trump’s golf course in Florida.
Speaker Johnson said earlier this week the House would take this step and it was just approved by unanimous consent.
On Wednesday, the Secret Service told the House task force investigating the assassination attempts against Trump that the former president has an increased level of security.
“President Biden ordered the Secret Service to provide the same level of security to both Vice President Harris and to former President Trump, that would be a presidential level security commensurate with what the president would receive, and that that security is being provided, that’s our understanding,” Ranking Member Jason Crow, D-CO, said following a USSS virtual briefing.
The USSS insists that Donald Trump is now receiving protection at what one official calls “the highest levels the Secret Service provides.”
In addition to counter assault, counter surveillance, counter sniper, protective intelligence and drone teams for Trump, an agency official says the security plan at Mar-a-Lago now includes emergency tactical response functions and a protective platoon from Palm Beach County.
The protective package around a candidate – even one who’s now repeatedly come under physical threat – could never be the same as that of a sitting president or vice president, the official said.
Acting Director of the Secret Service said Monday that Congress’ commitment to providing the resources the agency needs has been “fantastic.”
He also praised DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas “ whose support in making sure that we’re getting what we need has been phenomenal.”
Rowe said that right now they need to hire more people because they are currently “redlining” agents.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise touted the bill during the GOP weekly leadership press conference earlier this week.
“Every year since 2017, Congress has added more money to the Secret Service’s budget than they even requested in their budget,” Scalise said Wednesday. “And so, it is not an issue of money. What they are doing with the money we’ve had a lot of serious questions about before the first assassination attempt.”
ABC News’ Luke Barr and Steven Portnoy contributed to this report.
Gov. Brian Kemp, of Georgia, speaks at Republican National Convention Jul. 15, 2024. (Bloomberg via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is expected to headline a fundraiser for former President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign in Atlanta on Thursday alongside first lady Marty Kemp and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, multiple sources told ABC News.
It’s a signal of how Kemp is working to reelect Trump despite their public feud, and though Kemp voices his commitment to working to elect the entire Republican ticket, he previously revealed he didn’t vote for Trump during the state’s presidential primary.
Kemp’s anticipated participation in the fundraiser, first reported by ABC News, comes after Trump last week publicly praised the Republican governor after watching an interview he did on FOX News following months of criticizing Kemp and his family for Kemp’s refusal to give in to the former president’s alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
“Thank you to #BrianKempGA for all of your help and support in Georgia, where a win is so important to the success of our Party and, most importantly, our Country,” Trump wrote on X last Thursday.
Before the praise, Trump spent much of his last Georgia rally lambasting Kemp for not doing enough to work towards his reelection campaign in the state, even going after Kemp’s wife for previously saying that she would write in Kemp’s name instead of voting for Trump.
“He’s a bad guy, he is a disloyal guy, and he’s a very average governor. Little Brian. Little Brian Kemp. Bad guy…and all he had to do is sign something where the senate would like to look at election integrity,” Trump said at his campaign rally in Atlanta earlier this month.
“Think of the wife. ‘We can never repay you for what you’ve done, sir. We could’ve never won.’ And now she said, two weeks ago, that ‘I will not endorse him because he hasn’t earned my endorsement.’ I haven’t earned her endorsement? I have nothing to do with her,” Trump continued.
The fundraiser, taking form as a cocktail party, was originally scheduled to be headlined by Pompeo, but Kemp and his wife were added as co-headliners after Kemp’s supporters attending the fundraiser invited him and urged him to attend.
A source familiar with how Kemp’s participation in the fundraiser came about told ABC News that multiple governors have expressed that Kemp had a “very supportive tone” of Trump and “getting support to those key states” at a recent Republican Governors Association meeting in Aspen.
“There is a lot of excitement in Georgia knowing that President Trump and Gov. Kemp have agreed to work together as they have in the past to achieve victories that are important for the future of the country and the future of Georgians,” the source said.
The fundraiser is hosted and co-hosted by former Trump State Department official Ulrich Brechbuhl, former Ambs. Duke Buchan and Ed McMullen and former Sen. Kelly Loeffler, who have all been actively raising money for Trump’s campaign this election cycle.
(WASHINGTON) — Former President Donald Trump spoke at a furniture store in Hurricane Helene-ravaged Valdosta, Georgia, on Monday where he said the day wasn’t about politics — only to use the moment to continue to slam President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for their response to the natural disaster.
“As you know, our country is in the final weeks of a hard-fought national election. But in a time like this, when a crisis hits, when our fellow citizens cry out in need, none of that matters. We’re not talking about politics now. We have to all get together and get this solved. We need a lot of help. They have to have a lot of help down here,” Trump said of the Georgia community hit by the hurricane.
But Trump later suggested Biden and Harris weren’t doing enough in the aftermath of the hurricane, which hit several states including Georgia and North Carolina — two battlegrounds in the upcoming election.
“We do need some help from the federal government,” Trump claimed.
On Monday, Biden said he has directed his team to “provide every, every available resource as fast as possible” to the communities to help them rescue, recover and begin to rebuild.
Homeland Security Adviser Liz Sherwood Randall on Monday said there are currently 3,500 federal response personnel deployed and supporting response efforts across the region, and additional personnel is expected to arrive in the coming days.
“Search and rescue efforts by state, local, and federal partners are ongoing, and nearly 600 additional personnel will arrive in the region in the coming days, increasing the total number of urban search and rescue personnel to over 1,250,” she told reporters.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency and US Army Corps of Engineers are also getting generators ready to be deployed to states that request them.
While communication remains a major challenge for the impacted area, Sherwood-Randall said, “FEMA will install 30 Starlink receivers in western North Carolina to provide immediate connectivity for those in greatest need.”
Biden, while returning home from the beach on Sunday, was adamant that his administration was doing everything possible to help the affected communities.
Asked by ABC News is there are more resources the federal government could be giving, Biden responded, “no, we’ve given them.”
“We have pre-planned a significant amount, even though they didn’t ask for it yet — hadn’t asked for it yet,” Biden said Sunday.
The Trump campaign said it partnered with humanitarian aid nonprofit Samaritan’s Purse to bring relief supplies to the state. A campaign official claimed it brought one gas tanker and two trucks full of supplies.
“We’ve done this before, but we have a lot of truckloads of different items, from oil to water to all sorts of equipment that’s going to help them,” Trump said.
Harris cut short her campaign swing through Las Vegas to return to Washington to be briefed on the hurricane response by the FEMA.
Harris said she intends to visit communities impacted by Hurricane Helene “as soon as it is possible without disrupting emergency response operations,” according to a White House official. Harris, who was briefed by FEMA on the federal response to the hurricane, reached out to local officials, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp.
“We are deploying food, water and generators, and working to restore state and local leaders, we will provide whatever help they need in the days and weeks ahead,” Harris said Sunday while rallying in Las Vegas.
She will learn more from FEMA during meetings in Washington on Monday, according to a White House official.
Trump’s visit to Georgia comes after other recent criticism of Biden and Harris for their response to Hurricane Helene.
“She ought to be down in the area where she should be. That’s what she’s getting paid for, right? That’s what she’s getting paid for,” Trump said at his rally Sunday in Erie, Pennsylvania.
Trump has attacked Harris’ response to Hurricane Helene specifically, saying her delay in visiting the impacted region demonstrates that she isn’t qualified to become president.
On Monday, Biden said called Hurricane Helene “not just a catastrophic storm, it’s historic, history, making storm,” and pledged to visit the impacted area once he can do so without being “disruptive,” hopefully later this week.
“I also want you to know I’m committed to traveling to impacted areas as soon as possible. But, I’ve been told that it’d be disruptive if I did it right now, we will not do that at the risk of diverting or delaying any, any of the response assets needed to deal with this crisis,” Biden said Monday. “My first responsibility is to get all the help needed to those impacted areas.”
Asked if Trump’s visit to Georgia was causing a disruption, Biden replied “I don’t have any idea.”
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday that Biden was “taking caution to avoid using critical resources that is needed right now, on the road, that, on the ground that people need,” and added that “should be everyone’s top consideration right now.”
Asked if there requests for the Trump to delay his visit, Jean-Pierre didn’t engage directly, repeating Biden’s desire to not take away from resources, but adding “he believes everybody should adhere-adhere to that.”
Hurricane Helene’s storm surge, wind damage, and inland flooding caused deviation and casualties in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee, flooding neighborhoods, stranding residents, demolishing homes and toppling trees. The storm has killed at least 107 people and left dozens missing.
ABC News’ Molly Nagle, Fritz Farrow, Gabriella Abdul-Hakim, Will McDuffie and Sarah Beth Hensley contributed to this report.
