Betrayal — that’s the word that comes to mind for Lyndsey Fifield following her interactions with The New York Times, saying the paper had “tainted” her story about embattled Democratic Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner.
A bombshell report published Monday by Politico rocked the political landscape accusing Platner of sexual assault by one of his exes. Jenny Racicot alleged in 2021 that Platner drunkenly entered her home uninvited and had sex with her despite her repeatedly telling him to stop. Platner has firmly denied her claims.
The claim, which Racicot has said constituted rape, caused prominent Democrats to call for him to step aside, and Platner dropped out of the race officially Wednesday night.
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Both Racicot and Fifield were interviewed by the Times in a story published last month about Platner’s “unsettling” behavior with women — but the report included a focus on Fifield’s conservative politics.
“The New York Times piece… people are looking back at that with absolute horror and just saying like, ‘Holy crap, this is like terrible. This is truly gruesome what you’ve done to these women,’” Fifield told Fox News Digital in an interview Wednesday, before Platner dropped out of the race.
Fifield, who dated Platner between 2013-2015, said it started when Times reporter Katie Glueck contacted her in April, saying the paper was trying to reach those who Platner had relationships with after hearing “some really serious things” from other women. Times reporter Lisa Lerer, who co-authored the story, was also intensely involved.
“They said… very insistently, ‘Wait, wait, there are other women who are very afraid to come forward. They do not want to tell their stories because of how vulnerable they are, and you can help them, and we can protect you,’” Fifield told Fox News Digital.
“I didn’t want to do this,” she said. “They made me feel guilty that if I didn’t go on the record, then Jenny and the other unnamed woman, that their stories wouldn’t get told.”
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Before the story was published, the Times reporters connected Fifield with Racicot. She found it strange but was told by the reporters that Racicot “had no one” and was “totally isolated” because of Racicot’s far-left social circle that was supportive of Platner’s campaign.
“They said she really needs a friend, and you will understand her… and they were right about that. We have become friends,” Fifield said.
Racicot wasn’t the only one who allegedly faced sexual abuse at the hands of Platner. Fifield initially told the Times off the record that Platner repeatedly removed his condom during sex without her knowledge or consent, an action known as stealthing, which has been made illegal in certain states. She initially did not want to share that publicly due to the “gross” nature of it, in addition to her current life as a wife and mother of young children.
Inspired by Racicot going on the record with her assault claim with Politico, Fifield went on the record about it Tuesday with The Washington Post.
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Fifield was aghast by the Times’ published report that prominently featured her after the reporters gave her the impression that allegations from the other women would be included.
“I’m out here on my own, I’m the only one photographed, and there’s 11 paragraphs of my work history. Like, what is this?” Fifield reacted.
Racicot initially told the Times about her alleged assault off the record. The incident was alluded to roughly 70 paragraphs deep into the story — which read, “Ms. Racicot also said that in 2021 he arrived at her house drunk, after she had asked him not to come over. She declined to elaborate, but said she cut off contact soon after that episode and found his behavior ‘reckless’ and ‘unsettling.'”
During the reporting process, Fifield recalled the Times asking numerous questions about her career. She said the reporters made it feel like they were seeking information to protect her from the Platner campaign, suggesting her claims were tied to her political affiliation. Instead, Fifield said the Times weighed her story down with pointless details about her work history, insisting she’s “not some political operative” despite the framing.
The Times’ story described Fifield as a “Virginia conservative who has worked for right-leaning groups and Republican campaigns” and harped on her ties to a women’s conservative group. Her claim that Platner once “twisted her arm behind her back, shoved her into a bedroom and held the door closed from the other side so she couldn’t get out” was mentioned in the 24th paragraph.
“I want to blame the editors at The New York Times,” Fifield said. “I almost don’t want to blame these journalists because they became like friends, I felt like we had a friendly relationship — and maybe that’s me being really naïve. I don’t know, it doesn’t make any sense.”
Fifield was puzzled when the Times reporters urged her to avoid the public’s response to the story shortly after it was published as she peppered them with questions about the finished product. Some left-wing allies of Platner suggested Fifield’s story was tainted because of her personal views.
“They were like, ‘Oh, Lyndsey, just stay off social media. Don’t listen to people who are being critical of you. Don’t listen to them. Put your phone away. Go to the lake… Go on vacation, enjoy your babies… You did a brave thing. This was so huge. You’re so brave for doing this and we really appreciate it. We’re here if you need anything.’ And it was just, like, gaslighting,” Fifield recalled.
Fifield doesn’t want to think of Glueck and Lerer as “villains,” but feels what occurred was “pretty evil” in the wake of the Politico story.
“They were like slow walking it to the week of the primary. They contacted us on April 15. There was no reason in hell that they shouldn’t have been able to get that story out that week,” she said. “It makes me sick to realize that that’s what they were doing now.”
The Times story last month claimed it “could not independently corroborate Ms. Fifield’s account of the altercations.” Fifield said this is simply “not true” and the Times reporters knew it was false before the article was published, telling the Times she had confided in a friend about the abuse and other “toxic elements” of her relationship with Platner, but her friend was never contacted by The Times.
“They only called the sources that didn’t know anything about the abuse,” Fifield said. “There was a conversation where they were saying, ‘We’re going to include this line about ‘could not corroborate,’ and that was when I started to get really panicked. And I was like, ‘Wait a minute, what do you mean? I thought that you called.’”
She was “horrified” when the Times told her that “it wasn’t enough,” and attempted to downplay the disclaimer that her account could not be corroborated.
“They were like, ‘Actually, it’s fine. You know, women don’t often come forward, so it’s actually normal for women not to tell anyone,’” Fifield said.
Emily Zanotti, one of Fifield’s friends, was willing to speak with the Times to corroborate Platner’s mistreatment of her. She wrote on X that she was never contacted.
Conservative critics on social media have accused the Times of using “catch and kill” tactics to shield Platner so that allegations of sexual misconduct would never see the light of day, a notion Fifield agreed with.
“They tainted our story,” Fifield told Fox News Digital.
A spokesperson for The New York Times stood by its reporting and strongly pushed back against critics.
“The Times’s June 4 reporting on Graham Platner and his patterns of behavior was a powerful and original piece of journalism that presented deeply personal accounts and many new facts for the first time,” the Times spokesperson said. “As a result of what this original article broke open, The Times and other outlets continued to produce groundbreaking, independent reporting that revealed even more new details about the sensitive and upsetting experiences that women who knew Platner went through.”
“In the ensuing weeks, partisan commentators and politically-aligned media have put forward false allegations and criticism about The Times’s journalism process. The story carefully reported what we could confirm at the time, was factually accurate and fair, and it alerted the public to important new information about a candidate for the Senate,” the spokesperson added.
