Robinson’s attorneys filed a voluntary dismissal notice in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. They did not specify a reason for the decision, according to The Associated Press.
In a statement posted on the social media platform X on Jan. 31, Robinson said the decision was driven by financial considerations and the impact of ongoing political opposition.
“The words of our Savior, along with the earthly reality that costly litigation and political gamesmanship by my detractors makes clear that continuing to pursue retribution from CNN is a futile effort,” Robinson wrote. “That is why I have asked Jesse Binnall and his legal team to terminate any continued attempt to litigate with CNN on my or my family’s behalf.”
“CNN and Louis Love Money are responsible for a new low in digital lynching,” the lawsuit stated. “In a malicious hit job so well timed as to be uncanny, they have published disgusting lies about Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson in what appears to be a coordinated attack aimed at derailing his campaign.”
Robinson has consistently denied the allegations, stating that the accusations were part of a coordinated attack aimed at damaging his gubernatorial campaign.
Money made a music video before the election about Robinson and gave an interview accusing Robinson of frequenting the porn shop—a claim that Robinson also denied. The suit against Money was also dropped.
Money did not respond to a request for comment from The Epoch Times on the suit, but noted in a post on X that the suit was dropped and that it “was a pleasure” to have written “a song, that is a very small part of [North Carolina’s] political history.”
Robinson’s original lawsuit alleged that CNN used compromised data breaches to link Robinson to online posts, a claim the network has not publicly addressed.
Following CNN’s report, several of Robinson’s top campaign staff resigned, and the Republican Governors Association withdrew support for his candidacy.
President Donald Trump, who had previously appeared alongside Robinson at campaign events in 2024, distanced himself from the lieutenant governor after the accusations surfaced.
Robinson, a Republican known for his conservative views, also announced that he will not seek elected office in the future.
“I will continue to utilize my platform to promote and support many of the issues we are all so passionate about; however, at this time, I will do so from the sidelines,” he wrote.
“I will not run next year, nor do I have plans to seek elected office in the future. Until we change the hearts and souls of those inside the political arena, it is unlikely the political process itself will undergo any meaningful change.”
He thanked his legal team and those who had provided information in support of his case.
“The investigation of CNN and their ‘sources’ yielded tremendous results and brought closure to our family during what has been an unimaginably dark situation,” Robinson added.
Robinson was considered a rising star in the Republican Party following his unexpected election victory in 2020—his first bid for elected office—that made him the state’s first black lieutenant governor.
However, he lost the governor’s race to Democrat Josh Stein in November 2024 by almost 15 percentage points and completed his four-year term at the end of December 2024.
Robinson concluded his statement with a message of unity, writing, “To those who have supported me and to those who have not, we are all Americans, we all bleed red, and we are all children of God.”
CNN declined to provide a comment on the matter to The Epoch Times.
