Mark Robinson’s campaign hires law firm to try to refute report of porn site posts

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Republican candidate for North Carolina governor Mark Robinson said Tuesday his campaign has hired a law firm to help investigate a CNN report alleging he posted racist and sexually explicit messages on a porn website’s forum.

Lawyers will examine how what Robinson calls “false smears” arose.

The announcement comes as more North Carolina Republicans, disturbed by last week’s report, have said that if Robinson cannot formally refute the accusations soon, the GOP should shift its attention to competitive races within the state.

Other Republicans have already abandoned Robinson, the incumbent lieutenant governor. The Republican Governors Association announced Monday that it would no longer support Robinson. His campaign had benefited from the millions of dollars the group spent on advertising for his campaign with Democratic candidate Josh Stein, who polls show is leading Robinson. Most of Robinson’s top campaign staff also resigned in the wake of the report.

GOP officials fear Robinson’s situation could bring down Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and help Democratic challenger Kamala Harris in the swing state, and threaten outcomes in other key seats up for grabs.

“He should quickly and conclusively prove that the allegations against him are false,” Hal Weatherman, who is seeking Robinson’s successor as lieutenant governor, told X. Weatherman is running separately from Robinson but has received his endorsement. “If he can prove that these allegations are not true and that they were fabricated to harm him, he will win hands down. But if he can’t, he will lose, because the comments attributed to him are very disturbing.”

Robinson, a favorite of the state’s conservative Republican base and who would be the state’s first black governor if elected, has denied writing the messages, which date back more than a decade, long before he became active in politics. In a news release, Robinson said he was confident that the Binnall Law Group of Northern Virginia “will spare no effort and allow us to use all legal avenues to hold CNN accountable for its lies.” The firm’s partner, Jesse Binnall, has represented Trump and his campaign in litigation.

The CNN report revealed posts by Robinson on a porn site’s message boards in which he described himself as a “black Nazi,” said he liked transgender pornography, said in 2012 that he preferred Hitler to then-President Barack Obama, and called the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. “worse than a maggot.” Robinson has a history of inflammatory comments about abortion, LGBTQ+ issues and the role of women, which Stein and her allies used against him for months.

CNN did not immediately respond to an email Tuesday seeking comment. Last week, CNN said it matched details from an account on the porn site’s forum to other online accounts held by Robinson by comparing usernames, a known email address and his full name. CNN reported that the details discussed by the account holder matched Robinson’s age, length of marriage and other biographical information.

At a campaign event Monday, Robinson said he would “go after CNN all the way.” He did not provide evidence that would contradict the report.

Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina endorsed a rival to Robinson in the gubernatorial primary in March and has questioned Robinson’s qualifications for the job. Speaking to reporters in Washington on Tuesday, Tillis proposed that Robinson present evidence by Friday that would form the basis of a trial to “defend his name or, if there is no defense, then we have to move on.”

Robinson was endorsed by Trump before the primaries and has spoken at the former president’s rallies in his home state. But he did not attend a Trump rally in Wilmington last weekend, and Trump did not mention him. Trump has another event in North Carolina on Wednesday.

Speaking in Charlotte on Monday, Trump’s running mate JD Vance said it was up to North Carolina voters to decide what they thought of Robinson’s messages and whether they believed his defense.

A spokesman for the Republican Governors Association said this week that no further ad placements were made in the race after Tuesday.

Data from AdImpact, which tracks campaign spending, shows that the RGA and a separate political action committee associated with the group spent at least $15.9 million on television and online advertising during the North Carolina general election campaign. Stein’s campaign and its allied groups have far outspent Robinson and his allies during the general election so far, the data shows.

The deadline for any candidate for governor of North Carolina to withdraw from the race was September 19.

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