Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson has filed a defamation lawsuit against CNN and a former porn store employee over recent news reports, although his legal claims don't include new evidence.
With weeks left in his campaign for governor, Robinson is taking legal action over news stories he says are false. CNN reported that Robinson had posted pro-slavery and Nazi comments on a pornographic website more than a decade ago. And that Robinson had also been a frequent customer at a Greensboro porn shop, citing a former store employee named Louis Love Money.
"We are glad to take these first steps to fight back against what we consider to be one of the greatest examples of political interference in this state鈥檚 history, and quite possibly, in this nation鈥檚 history," Robinson said at a news conference Tuesday in front of the Lt. Gov.'s office in Raleigh.
doesn't include any new evidence to prove that the stories were false, but it notes that Robinson's personal information was leaked through a data breach and could have been used to build a fake profile on the porn site.
"CNN knew that supposed archives from a suspicious website like Nude Africa were unreliable and failed to meaningfully investigate or digitally scrutinize them," the lawsuit says. "CNN knew that supposedly corroborating information it used was from unverifiable, dark web-sourced data breach files. CNN knew or recklessly disregarded the fact that Lt. Gov. Robinson鈥檚 email, passwords, and personal data had been stolen. CNN knew that Lt. Gov. Robinson鈥檚 Facebook history, which is unlocked and transparent to all, goes back to 2007."
CNN's report ties the racist and misogynistic comments to Robinson based on the email address associated with the account, unusual phrasing he used in other social media points and biographical information. The posts were dated long before Robinson entered politics.
As for the other news story, the lawsuit was filed against Money, who made a music video about Robinson owing him money for a bootleg porn video. It says Money and Robinson became friends when he worked at a Papa John's Pizza location near the porn shop, and Robinson "would occasionally bring over free pizza and socialize" at the porn store.
But the lawsuit says Robinson was not "renting or previewing videos, and he did not purchase 'bootleg' or other videos" from Money. The lawsuit seeks damages from Money but not from The Assembly, which Robinson's attorney claims without evidence is a publication funded by billionaire George Soros. The Assembly's founder, Kyle Villemain, told 瓜神app his organization does not receive funding from Soros. "We're not sure where that claim is coming from," he said.
The lawsuit seeks $50 million in damages and is unlikely to be resolved before Election Day. It says that Robinson's "private and public lives have been devastated. Friends and family have turned their backs on him. He has been humiliated."
Robinson's attorney, Jesse Binnall, told reporters that he's been "stonewalled" in getting information from CNN and from the owner of the porn website, Nude Africa. "We will use every tool at our disposal now that a lawsuit has been filed, including the
subpoena power in order to continue pursuing the facts," Binnall said.
A spokesperson for CNN declined to comment on the lawsuit.
Robinson said at Tuesday's news conference that he still expects to win the election for governor. While his campaign is no longer running TV ads, he says he's holding multiple campaign events each day to meet with voters. "We are finding this far more effective than what we've been doing in the past," he said.
