Olivia Nuzzi, a writer at New York’s Intelligencer magazine, has been placed on leave for not promptly disclosing that she had a personal relationship with former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr, whose presidential campaign she covered extensively. 

Her leave commenced shortly after she disclosed her personal ties with Mr Kennedy.

Although a review of Ms Nuzzi’s articles did not show “inaccuracies nor evidence of bias”, Intelligencer deemed her relationship “a violation of the magazine’s standards around conflicts of interest and disclosures.” 

Until August, Kennedy was an independent contender in the U.S. presidential polls, but he ended his campaign to support the Republican candidate, Donald Trump.

Ms Nuzzi, on her part, admitted that the relationship “should have been disclosed to prevent the appearance of a conflict” and that she “deeply regrets” her actions in a statement to the New York Times.

“Some communication between myself and a former reporting subject turned personal” earlier this year,” The Times cited the writer as saying. “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 apologise to those I’ve disappointed, especially my colleagues at New York.”

Last November, Ms Nuzzi wrote a lengthy article about Mr Kennedy. She described him as a “conservative” and “liberal” who “could turn the presidential race upside down.”

The former presidential candidate, according to his aide, only met the writer once in his life, which was for an interview. 

“Mr Kennedy only met Olivia Nuzzi once in his life for an interview she requested, which yielded a hit piece,” The Times cited Mr Kennedy’s aide as saying.