North Carolina’s Republican candidate for governor, Mark Robinson, is suing CNN for $50 million in a defamation lawsuit that was filed Tuesday, his lawyer announced at a press conference. Mr. Robinson’s attorney says the outlet’s reporting on lewd comments made on a porn website more than 10 years ago amounts to “election interference.”

Mr. Robinson, who has served as lieutenant governor of the state since 2021, said CNN’s reporting on his alleged use of a porn discussion website was fabricated, and violated basic standards of journalistic integrity. He allegedly wrote in those messages that he was a Black Nazi, enjoyed watching women shower without their consent, and said slavery should be reestablished. 

“We are taking the first step,” Mr. Robinson said Tuesday. “We are holding CNN accountable and we are going to get to the bottom of what’s going on here.”

“To quote Clarence Thomas: this is a high-tech lynching on a candidate who has been targeted since day one by folks who disagree with me politically and want to see me destroyed,” Mr. Robinson stated, referring to the Supreme Court justice’s assertion that he was being smeared with sexual harassment claims during his confirmation hearings in 1991. 

Mr. Robinson’s attorney, Jesse Binnall, said his firm has conducted an investigation that can prove CNN’s reporting is false, though few specifics were offered at the press conference.

“What our investigation has shown so far is that there were a number of inconsistencies that … went beyond journalistic standards in the way that CNN performed their reporting,” Mr. Binnall said. “Let me say … Lieutenant Governor Robinson has always said these allegations are completely false. Our investigation has shown that he is, quite frankly, right about that.”

The attorney claimed that CNN put out a “journalistic hit-job” meant to influence the 2024 gubernatorial election. 

“We expect to find that there have been more bad actors that have been involved in this process to interfere with the election,” Mr. Binnall said. “We will use every tool at our disposal … including the subpoena power in order to continue pursuing the facts.”

CNN did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the defamation case. 

The basis for the lawsuit is a September report from CNN’s KFILE, which allegedly uncovered Mr. Robinson’s use of a discussion site, “Nude Africa,” to talk about his sexual desires and radical right-wing politics more than a decade ago. 

Mr. Robinson has said the comments are not his, and has claimed that they could be the result of a political hit-job or by the use of artificial intelligence.

On Nude Africa, Mr. Robinson allegedly wrote that he enjoyed watching pornography that featured transgender women, despite his comments as an elected official that transgender people are demonic. 

“I like watching tranny on girl porn! That’s f—ing hot! It takes the man out while leaving the man in!” Mr. Robinson allegedly wrote. “And yeah I’m a ‘perv’ too!”

The comments reportedly written by Mr. Robinson also describe an incident when he was a teenager that included watching women shower in a public restroom. “I came to a spot that was a dead end but had two big vent covers over it! It just so happened it overlooked the showers! I sat there for about an hour and watched as several girls came in and showered,” he wrote, adding that he liked the “peeping.”

On the Nude Africa message boards, Mr. Robinson also allegedly referred to himself in 2010 as a “black NAZI” and talked about his desire to re-establish slavery. “Slavery is not bad. Some people need to be slaves. I wish they would bring it (slavery) back. I would certainly buy a few,” he allegedly wrote.

The disclosures about Mr. Robinson’s alleged past activities caused turmoil within the party, as state leaders pushed the lieutenant governor to withdraw from the race. President Trump and Senator Vance have reportedly barred Mr. Robinson from appearing alongside them at rallies in North Carolina, which may decide the result of the presidential race this year.