North Carolina Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson has just escalated his dispute with CNN and ex-porn store worker ‘Louis Love Money’ by filing a $50 million defamation lawsuit against them.
The new legal action, filed in Wake County Superior Court, claims “CNN and Louis Love Money are responsible for a new low in digital lynching”. During a press conference held on Tuesday in Raleigh, Robinson, accompanied by former Trump attorney Jesse Binnall, denounced CNN’s report as a “malicious hit job,” which allegedly published “disgusting lies” in a coordinated attack against him.
According to the lawsuit, “In the 1990s, Mark Robinson…worked at Papa John’s pizza…where he sometimes managed the closing shift. Nearby was an adult video store where Defendant Money worked. Lt. Gov. Robinson, who has always been a gregarious, outgoing person, made friends with Defendant Money, who also worked the night shift. He would occasionally bring over free pizza and socialize…Contrary to the portrayal by Defendant Money, Lt. Gov. Robinson was not spending hours at the video store, five nights a week. He was not renting or previewing videos, and he did not purchase “bootleg” or other videos from Defendant Money…”
The suit also targets CNN’s article titled, “‘I’m a black NAZI!’: NC GOP nominee for governor made dozens of disturbing comments on porn forum”, which references numerous disturbing archived forum posts that were allegedly posted by a user named “Minisoldr” between 2010-2011 on the website NudeAfrica.com. In the article, CNN claims that “Minisoldr” was an online handle that Mark Robinson used on numerous other social media websites.
The lawsuit argues that CNN’s actions were intended to “inflict maximum damage” on his campaign, and claims that CNN’s failure to retract or clarify the defamatory claims demonstrates a reckless disregard for the truth.
Robinson’s legal team is now seeking both compensatory and punitive damages in the amount of $50 million.
CNN has yet to release a public statement regarding the lawsuit or address the allegations made by Robinson and his legal team.
