North Carolina's former Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson has withdrawn his defamation lawsuit against CNN challenging a report that he made explicit posts on a pornography website’s message board over a decade ago.

Mark Robinson was unsuccessful in his bid last November to become the state’s next governor, losing to Democrat Josh Stein by 14 points.

The scandal-plagued politician had sued CNN over a report on his controversial online activity. Mark Robinson, the former North Carolina lieutenant governor whose scandal-plagued candidacy doomed his gubernatorial bid last year,