The rejection—which allegedly followed another denial for legal assistance—sowed seeds of doubt among his staffers, WRAL reported Monday. The mass exodus from Robinson’s campaign over the weekend, which included the exit of his campaign manager and finance director, could be related to Robinson’s decision to try to cover things up.

The political fallout has officially begun following CNN’s report that North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson made graphic and disturbing comments on a pornography website more than a decade ago. But the fallout hasn’t come from members of his party — it’s come from inside his own campaign.