During a Fox News segment on Sunday, commentator and former Congressman Jason Chaffetz took issue with the timing of the release of the stories concerning Mark Robinson's past.
The Republicans are now stuck with the controversial Republican and it looks like he'll lose big this fall. North Carolina is also crucially important in the presidential race and it's possible Robinson could have a drag on Donald Trump.
Chaffetz, Lucy Caldwell and Howard Kurtz were talking about Donald Trump rescinding his endorsement of Robinson, who he once favorably compared to Martin Luther King Jr. Caldwell noted, "Trump is, I think, being very kind to Mark Robinson by not indicting his character further."
Then Chaffetz complained about the timing of the report, saying, "You know, some of these things that come out when the ballots are already printed. Really, did it have to come out now? How long did they actually know about this story? That never really passes the basic sniff test."
Caldwell, though, was quick to note that Robinson didn't just become controversial; he has been for months:
"Yeah, I just have to say around the timing question, I don't think that we should spend too much time on that when we are, as a means of doing that, we are making it such that Mark Robinson isn't held accountable. These are credible reports. Some of them did come out as early as August. There was still plenty of time for him to be replaced."