NC Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson decreases amount of damages in CNN lawsuit from $50 million to $25,000

Note: The accompanying video shows previous coverage of Mark Robinson announcing the CNN lawsuit on Oct. 15.

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) – North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson is lowering his damage claim from $50 million to $25,000 in his lawsuit against CNN.

An amended filing of the case which reduced the punitive damages total to $25,000 was filed on Monday.

Robinson and his legal team hosted a news conference in Raleigh last week after filing the defamation lawsuit.

This comes after the CNN report alleging the Republican gubernatorial candidate made several offensive comments on a pornographic website called “Nude Africa” before his political career, which included calling himself “a Black Nazi” and expressing support for reinstating slavery. His campaign has called the report a “smear” and “outrageous lies.”

“We are holding CNN accountable,” Robinson said during the news conference announcing the lawsuit on Oct. 15. “This is a high-tech lynching of a candidate that’s been targeted from day one, by folks who disagree with me politically and want to see me destroyed.”

“We are glad to take these first steps to fight back against what we consider to be one of the greatest examples of political interference in this state’s history, and quite possibly this nation’s history,” he added.

Robinson’s attorney, Jesse Binnall, called the CNN report a “journalistic hit job” with information that shows a “reckless disregard for the truth” and “actual malice.”

“There were a number of inconsistencies that were used that went beyond journalistic standards in the way that CNN performed their reporting,” Binnall said on Oct. 15. “We will get to the truth.”

Court documents show the case is scheduled to be heard in court on Nov. 18, nearly two weeks following the 2024 general election.

You can read the amended lawsuit below: