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UPDATED: Walton Robinson, the spokesman for the N.C. Democratic Party, announced his resignation this week.

His statement sent Wednesday offered no explanation for his immediate departure after 15 months on the job. In an email Friday, Robinson said he is "leaving to pursue other professional opportunities. That's all." 

Executive Director Tammy Brunner said Friday that other staff reductions are expected, as is typical "in an election year such as this." Asked if the party's struggling financial situation affected the decision, Brunner said "as always finances play a role in the reduction of employees."

Jay Parmley, who resigned as executive director of the N.C. Democratic Party in April after a staffer accused him of sexual harassment, is entitled to unemployment benefits, an appeals referee for the state Employment Security Commission has ruled.

Parmley’s resignation was forced, which amounted to a discharge, and was “solely due to political reasons” and not for misconduct or poor job performance, referee Mia Bass ruled Monday.

The North Carolina Democratic Party has hired someone within its ranks to oversee party operations temporarily following the resignation of its executive director in the wake of sexual harassment allegations, AP reports.

The party says Tammy Brunner is the interim executive director of the party. She most recently was the party's director of operations. She previously served as executive director of the Wake County Democrats and as a worker in Erskine Bowles' U.S. Senate campaigns.

A party spokesman said Brunner began a few weeks ago. It's unclear when a permanent director will be named. Brunner assumed the post a month after Jay Parmley resigned from his job. Documents show a former party headquarters employee accused Parmley of harassment and being wrongly fired when he spoke up about it. Parmley denied any harassment.

An attorney for a former state Democratic Party staffer is considering a lawsuit against the party and its controversial chairman as the fallout continues from an alleged sexual harassment scandal.

Kieran Shanahan, a high-profile Raleigh attorney, sent a letter to Chairman David Parker on Tuesday asking him to preserve all records related to Adriadn Ortega's employment and complaints of sexual harassment from former Executive Director Jay Parmley. The notice is often a precursor to a lawsuit. 

"Sometimes someone thinks certain information hurts them and they begin to destroy it," said Shanahan in an interview Wednesday, explaining the letter.

Shanahan said he anticipates filing a legal action contending that Parker made defamatory comments about Ortega and the party violated a confidentiality and nondisparagement agreement as part of a financial settlement in which the party paid Ortega roughly $10,000 to end a federal discrimination complaint about sexual harassment. 

The N.C. Democratic Party made a $9,135 transfer on March 19 to its secretive legal fund as part of a partial financial settlement with a former staffer who alleged he was sexually harassed, new documents indicate.

John Wallace, the party's attorney, confirms that the legal defense fund -- never acknowledged until the controversy exploded at Democratic headquarters in April-- is the source of the payment, according to a letter sent Friday to the state Board of Elections.

Answering a complaint filed by the conservative Civitas Institute about the financial settlement, Wallace wrote that the party "made a transfer to the NCDP Legal Fund from which the primary obligation arising from the settlement was paid." Wallace further writes that two other transfers were made from the party's state account to cover a "related tax obligation" and "certain expenses associated with benefit obligations."

State Sen. Don Vaughan became the first Democrat to make a bid for state party chairman. In an email sent to party activists Thursday, the Greensboro attorney said "it's time for a change in Raleigh."

The current chairman, David Parker, plans to step aside later this month after a sexual harassment scandal roiled the party, forcing the quick exit of Executive Director Jay Parmley and raising questions about a secret settlement agreement Parker authorized with a former staffer.

"Now more than ever we need to keep our eye on the ball and get to work," Vaughan wrote in the email. (Read full text below.)

In a segment called "Tarred Heels," The Daily Show's Jon Stewart ridiculed North Carolina Democrats on Thursday for their various sex scandals.

He starts with John Edwards and moves to the sexual harassment controversy at the state Democratic Party. ("On the bright side, no love child.") His mashup of David Parker's notorious rambling press conference is clever as he notes Jay Parmley's "Seinfeld defense." (He's a close talker.) The kicker: "Congratulations North Carolina, you have become the Democrat's South Carolina." Ouch.

The TV satellite trucks are no longer stationary outside the N.C. Democratic Party headquarters on Hillsborough Street. But many questions surrounding the sexual harassment claims that crippled the party still remain unanswered. Here's a few storylines left in my notebook:

1. The money. The cost of the settlement with the former Democratic Party staffer who alleged sexual harassment and the source of the money is still unknown. But here's a more interesting point that went underreported: At the press conference, when I asked Chairman David Parker the source of the payout he said this: "I do not know. I leave that up the lawyer." So attorney John Wallace is authorized to spend party money and select its source as he sees fit? 

Try, try, try as it might, the Republican National Committee wants to tie President Barack Obama to the sexual harassment scandal at the state Democratic Party.

Using TV reports from last week -- and giving ABC 11's Jon Camp a lot of love -- the RNC released a Web video Tuesday. The kicker: "Mr. President, we have some questions..." But Republicans shouldn't hold their breath waiting for an answer.

In this column, Rob Christensen explores the undercurrents fueling the state Democratic Party scandal. No. 1: The current train crash at Democratic Headquarters on Hillsborough Street has been made worse by the disconnect between the governor and the party. No 2: Part of being a battleground state is that North Carolina is now hard-wired into Washington, D.C., politics – which means it is hard ball and fast. Any allegation of misconduct becomes fodder for the opposition, which can be counted upon to do it’s best to make a photograph of a penis into Weinergate. Read the full column here.

In other weekend headlines:

--Here's a primer for the John Edwards trial, which is scheduled to start Monday with all the trappings of a Greek drama.

--The Democratic candidates courted black voters Saturday in a Durham forum. The reliable Democratic voting bloc could help determine the May 8 primary outcome.

--At the same time, black voters are splitting with Democrats on the marriage amendment -- and helping to boost polling numbers showing the constitutional ban on gay marriage and civil unions is likely to pass next month. Read more from The Charlotte Observer here.