Vanity Fair parent company Condé Nast is still reviewing scandalous claims about newly hired West Coast editor Olivia Nuzzi as of Tuesday, Fox News Digital has learned.
Nuzzi, who was appointed to her role by Vanity Fair editorial director Mark Guiducci this summer, parted ways with New York Magazine last year after reports that she had an intimate relationship with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whom she covered for the publication.
The scandal led to the end of Nuzzi's engagement to Politico's chief Washington correspondent and Playbook co-author at the time, Ryan Lizza, who has since left the outlet. Last month, Lizza published the first of a series of shocking claims about Nuzzi, declaring he discovered during the 2020 election cycle that she had been in a romantic relationship with former South Carolina Gov. and Rep. Mark Sanford, whom she also covered. The claim, which resulted in much debate over the lines of journalism ethics, prompted Vanity Fair to admit it was looking into the situation.
"We were taken by surprise, and we are looking at all the facts," a Vanity Fair spokesperson told Fox News Digital last month.
Since Vanity Fair admitted it was surprised, Lizza has published even more scandalous claims about his former fiancée. Lizza has claimed Nuzzi used her gig as New York Magazine’s Washington correspondent to help Kennedy advance his political goals and may have violated Florida’s two-party consent law by secretly recording President Trump at Mar-a-Lago.
Nuzzi has dismissed Lizza’s claims as "fan fiction-slash-revenge porn."
Condé Nast has remained silent since the initial statement, but executives are continuing to examine the claims.
The review is "very much ongoing," a Condé Nast insider told Fox News Digital.
A second Condé Nast insider told Fox News Digital that Vanity Fair global executive editor Mark Guiducci informed senior staffers on Tuesday that the review is ongoing. The company is limited in what they can say publicly about any personal matter, but Guiducci has been "very communicative" internally, the insider said.
"They are taking each step carefully," the insider said.
Guiducci, who was selected to oversee Vanity Fair in June, recently provided his cell phone number in case employees had additional questions about Nuzzi.
No decision has been made, but Nuzzi is not a full-time employee and her contract reportedly expires at the end of the year. Semafor reported on Sunday that Vanity Fair insiders expect the magazine to simply let her contract run out.
Condé Nast did not immediately respond to a series of questions, including whether she is actively working for the magazine.
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High-powered communications consultant Risa Heller, who is representing Nuzzi, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
New York Magazine, where Nuzzi was employed for much of the alleged ethical breaches, declined comment. Last year, New York Magazine took several weeks to review Nuzzi’s work before the outlet parted ways with her.
Nuzzi penned a book that was released on Tuesday, "American Canto," about the alleged digital romance with Kennedy, without explicitly naming Kennedy, instead referring to him as "the Politician."
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Nuzzi’s lawyer, Ari Wilkenfeld, told The New York Times that the book "discusses the only instance in her long career as a journalist in which she had an improper relationship with someone she was covering."
Wilkenfeld did not immediately respond when asked for additional comment.
A Kennedy spokesperson previously denied any sort of physical relationship had occurred and said he had only met Nuzzi once. Nuzzi has maintained that she never had a physical relationship with him but did engage in "personal" communications.
Fox News Digital’s Joseph A. Wulfsohn and David Rutz contributed to this report.