A Maryland lawmaker has fired a legislative aide who was behind a fake news site that accused Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton of election-rigging.

Media outlets report that Del. David Vogt III said Wednesday he terminated Cameron Harris "on the spot'' after learning that Harris was behind Christian­TimesNewspaper.com and a fabricated article that reported the discovery of tens of thousands of "fraudulent Clinton votes'' in Ohio. Vogt is a Frederick County Republican.

Vogt says he was shocked when he read a New York Times story outlining Harris' creation of the story.

Harris recently graduated from Davidson College and had worked for the delegate since June. Harris apologized on Twitter to "those disappointed by my actions'' and called for a "larger dialogue about how Americans approach the media'' and other issues.