Mark Robinson Hires Law Firm To 'Hold CNN Accountable' Over Damaging Report

Republican North Carolina gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson has hired a law firm to probe the CNN report that unearthed shocking comments he allegedly made on a porn website years ago, his campaign announced Tuesday.

In a statement, Robinson dismissed the contents of the article as “salacious lies” and vowed to stay focused on the issues important to the people of his state.

“I will not let these attacks distract us from sharing a better future for our state, and I’m glad to be able to bring Jesse Binnall and his team on board to investigate where and how these false smears originated,” Robinson said. “I am confident that Binnall Law Group will leave no stone unturned and enable us to use every legal means to hold CNN accountable for their lies.”

Binnall has in the past represented former President Donald Trump and some of his allies, according to The Daily Beast.

Robinson hinted at his plans to take legal action against the network on Monday in his first campaign appearance since the story broke.

“You’d better understand I am coming after CNN full-throttle,” he said.

Robinson has contested the accuracy of the story, while also suggesting the past comments may be real.

Several top members of his campaign resigned in the wake of the article, while Trump, who endorsed Robinson earlier this year and has praised him on multiple occasions, has sought to distance himself from the candidate and did not mention him during a campaign rally in the state over the weekend.

CNN’s KFile unit on Thursday published a report alleging that Robinson made racist and lewd posts on the message board of a pornography website called Nude Africa between 2008 and 2012, including referring to himself as a “black NAZI” and saying he supports