Olivia Nuzzi, reporter in RFK Jr. scandal, accuses her ex-fiancé of leaking information

Olivia Nuzzi, the reporter who made headlines for her alleged “personal relationship” with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., claims her ex-fiancé was involved in leaking the allegations.

According to CNN, Nuzzi, 31, claimed in a Washington, D.C., Supreme Court lawsuit this week that her former fiancé “explicitly threatened” Ryan Lizza, Politico's chief Washington correspondent and co-author of the site's Playbook column to make personal information about me public in order to destroy my life, career and reputation.”

Nuzzi claimed Lizza made the threat in mid-August – almost four weeks before her employer. new York The magazine announced that she was placed on leave due to her “personal relationship with a former issue relevant to the 2024 campaign while covering the campaign.”

Although it is not clear when Nuzzi and Lizza's engagement ended, Nuzzi claims that Lizza's alleged harassment dates back to July and was carried out to blackmail her into a relationship with him again, CNN reported.

Nuzzi claimed that Lizza stole a personal electronic device from her in order to anonymously leak some private information about her to the media, and gave New York Magazine a hint about her alleged “personal relationship” with the 70-year-old Kennedy, which she revealed in court documents referred to as “the affair,” per CNN.

According to the media, a judge has approved Nuzzi's requests to temporarily ban Lizza from contact with her and have police accompany her when she tries to get her possessions back from him.

According to the court filing, Nuzzi alleged that Lizza allegedly threatened her with violence “to take his share of the financial responsibility” for a joint book deal. PEOPLE reached out to Nuzzi but did not immediately receive a response.

In a statement shared with PEOPLE, Lizza denied Nizzi's allegations. “I am saddened that my ex-fiancée is making a series of false accusations against me to distract from her own personal and professional mistakes,” Lizza said.

“I firmly reject these allegations and will defend myself vigorously and successfully against them,” his statement continued.

According to CNN, Lizza has not yet responded to the allegations in court. He will have an opportunity to appear before the judge at the next scheduled hearing on October 15.

Nuzzi told this New York Times She also filed a complaint with the FBI with similar allegations.

“The FBI does not comment on complaints or tips we may or may not receive from the public, so we will decline to comment,” the FBI said in a statement to PEOPLE.

In a note to readers, Lizza wrote that he and his editors had agreed that he would not cover Kennedy-related news for Politico.

On Tuesday evening, Lizza and Politico agreed that he would take a leave of absence during the investigation. “POLITICO and Ryan Lizza have mutually agreed that it is in everyone’s best interest for him to resign and take a leave of absence during the ongoing investigation,” the media said in a statement.

Although Kennedy was not named in the lawsuit or new York In the magazine's statement about Nuzzi, a source with knowledge of the incident told CNN that Nuzzi was connected to Kennedy.

Nuzzi told PEOPLE in a previous statement that while “the nature of any communication” between her and “a former reporting subject became personal,” it was never “physical.”

Kennedy has not commented on the matter, saying in an interview with Fox News on Friday, September 20, “I never comment on stories like that.”

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His wife, Cheryl Hines, also didn't comment on the issue, but was spotted wearing a band on her ring finger during Paris Fashion Week on Thursday, September 26.