New York Times journalist Ali Watkins caught up in sex scandal

The New York Times has revealed their own journalist dated a second Senate Intelligence Committee staffer, amid allegations she used her romantic connections to gather information for her stories.

A story published last weekend revealed Ali Watkins dated another member of the Senate Intelligence Committee while in the employ of Politico.

Ms Watkins already faces controversy over her three-year relationship with married senior committee aide James Wolf.

Mr Wolfe was arrested on June 7 with prosecutors claiming he lied to the FBI about contact with Ms Watkins and three other journalists.

He pleaded not guilty in federal court to charges of making false statements.

The 57-year-old retired in December after being questioned over leaks.

His relationship has raised questions about whether Ms Watkins used him as a source for her stories.

Ms Watkins insists she did not use Mr Wolfe as a source during their relationship.

The 26-year-old did admit however to taking mental notes of information and opinions divulged by Mr Wolfe.

The Times hired Ms Watkins in December to cover federal law enforcement – four months after her relationship with Mr Wolf allegedly ended.

In the period that followed the breakup, Ms Watkins "briefly dated another staff member at the committee" which ended "when the two decided not to pursue something more serious", the Times reports.

Over the course of her relationship with Mr Wolfe, Ms Watkins worked for a number of publications including The Huffington Post, Politico, Buzzfeed News and McClatchy.

In February, some of her email and phone records were seized by investigators, however no allegations have yet been made against her.

Mr Wolfe's lawyers said they expect to file a motion barring federal government officials, including Mr Trump, from making unfair comments about his case.

That was a likely reference to comments Mr Trump made, claiming the Justice Department had caught "a very important leaker" and that it could be a "terrific thing".

"I'm a big, big believer in freedom of the press," Mr Trump told reporters.

"But I'm also a believer in classified information. Has to remain classified."

With AP.