North Carolina Lt Gov Mark Robinson recently filed a lawsuit against CNN and Louis Love Money a former porn shop employee. The suit which was submitted to Wake County court two days ago‚ accuses them of spreading “disgusting lies“ about Robinson
The legal action stems from a CNN report published roughly a month ago. It claimed that Robinson had posted explicit racial and sexual content on a porn websites message board about a decade ago. Additionally‚ Money alleged in a music video and media interview that Robinson was a regular customer at the porn shop where he worked starting in the 90s (approximately 25-30 years ago)
In response Moneys attorneys filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit yesterday. They argue that Robinsons demand for at least $50 million in damages violates civil court rules. The lawyers stated‚ “The complaint contains many impertinent and bizarre allegations“ They also suggest that the excessive demand might have been made to generate media attention for Robinsons campaign
Robinsons campaign referred to their previous statement when asked about the motion to dismiss. In it Robinson described Moneys claims as “salacious tabloid trash“ Money however‚ maintains that his statements are truthful
The CNN report has had significant political repercussions. Many GOP officials including presidential nominee Donald Trump have distanced themselves from Robinsons gubernatorial campaign. The Republican Governors Association has stopped supporting his bid‚ and most of his top campaign staff and lieutenant governors office employees have quit
CNNs report allegedly matched details from the message board account to Robinsons other online accounts: comparing usernames‚ a known email address and his full name. The lawsuit claims CNN published the report despite knowing or recklessly disregarding that Robinsons personal data had been compromised in previous data breaches
The upcoming North Carolina gubernatorial election is scheduled for next month with Robinson facing Democratic nominee Josh Stein