Ryan Lizza’s lawyers have filed court papers opposing ex-fiancée Olivia Nuzzi’s motion to seal their legal fight, calling it “an unfair attempt to prevent Mr. Lizza from telling his side of the story.” story,” according to documents obtained by the Daily Beast.

This case is the latest twist in a drama that has electrified the political and media world since the revelation that Nuzzi, New York Magazine then a Washington correspondent, had a “digital” affair with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. while she was engaged to Lizza, himself co-author of the Politico book. Game Manual newsletter, the daily bible of DC’s elite.

Nuzzi filed an extraordinary series of explosive complaints against Lizza in court on September 29, accusing him of trying to blackmail her into staying with him after discovering her affair with RFK Jr., who was married to his third married Cheryl Hines.

Nuzzi got a ex parte Temporary Civil Protection Order – an order made by the court without any decision on Nuzzi’s claims. Lizza didn’t even know about the filing until CNN provided her with a copy of the order, her attorneys claimed in their new filing in D.C. Superior Court today.

“Mr. Lizza wants his facts made public, has nothing to hide, and respectfully requests that this Court deny Ms. Nuzzi’s sealing request,” the papers said.

“One might think that as an experienced journalist, Ms. Nuzzi shares the commitment of this Court and of Mr. Lizza to the press’s right of access to information,” adds Mr. Lizza’s lawyer , Simon Latcovich.

The crucial point made by Lizza’s lawyers is that Nuzzi made no attempt to seal the cover-up of the case for two weeks after its September 29 filing. She did so only after Lizza filed her counter-case on October 11, which was first reported. exclusively by the Beast.

“Mr. Lizza’s response to the petition should be just as public as his (Nuzzi’s) self-serving and self-publicized allegations,” Lizza’s attorneys argue.

“The petition remained public for two full weeks (after September 29). Yet Ms. Nuzzi did not move to seal it. On the contrary, it positively fueled media coverage,” states the file.

“Then, just hours after Ms. Nuzzi’s attorney received Mr. Lizza’s response and the day before the public hearing on her petition, Ms. Nuzzi suddenly decided to seal everything.”

“MS. Nuzzi cannot provide and discuss her petition and allegations with news organizations and then seek to seal the very record she created in order to silence Mr. Lizza in this litigation.

Lizza is represented in the fight over her name by both Latcovich, who filed the documents, and famed D.C. negotiator and attorney Bob Barnett. They are each partners at Williams & Connolly, the litigation firm hired by Bill Clinton to represent him in his impeachment trial.

Nuzzi—who New York Review severed ties with last week – is represented by renowned DC employment lawyer Air Wilkenfeld.

Wilkenfeld represented Matt Lauer’s main accuser when she brought a sexual harassment charge against the former NBC host in 2016, costing Lauer his job. (Another Wilkenfeld client less consequentially accused Tom Brokaw of unwanted sexual advances in 2018.)

Nuzzi was initially represented by a Maryland-based personal injury attorney from the firm Jezic & Moysz when she first filed an order of protection against Lizza. Wilkenfeld’s recent hire represents a significant increase in legal firepower and spending.

Entry rates at Lescht, Wilkenfeld’s firm, can reach about $5,000, with a lawyer of Wilkenfeld’s stature then costing about $800 an hour.

“If Ms. Nuzzi was truly concerned about her identity and allegations being made public,” Lizza’s attorneys conclude in their brief filed with Judge Staples, “she had nearly two weeks to seek relief from this Court.”

“The fact that she decided to hide these proceedings from the public record only after Mr. Lizza filed his response refuting her allegations and before a public hearing reveals her true motives.”

The two men are expected to meet in court on November 19.

Additional reporting by Corbin Bolies.