At Least One of the Michigan State Reps. Involved in Affair Won't Resign
Michigan state rep. Cindy Gamrat on Friday held her first press conference since being caught in an affair with her fellow representative, Todd Courser—despite Courser’s incredibly bizarre attempt to cover it up by implicating himself in a gay sex scandal. Gamrat announced that, pending the results of an investigation, she will not resign.
Gamrat had been encouraged to step down by her fellow Tea Partiers, but she declined. She claimed her family had known about her “mistake” for some time, and they had already been in counseling before it became public.
Meanwhile, her colleague and apparent lover, Courser, doubled down on his claim that he had been blackmailed over the affair by his former aides and the “Lansing mafia” he claims controls Michigan politics. Courser’s brother, Dan, released screen-grabs Thursday of text messages the blackmailer allegedly sent him starting in May, purportedly proving the blackmail plot was real.
The text messages from the anonymous individual contend there is audio of Todd Courser talking about his affair with Gamrat and that it is legitimate. Dan Courser said he doesn’t know who sent it and isn’t sure if his brother’s former staffers, as Todd Courser has alleged, were involved in sending the text messages.
“I’m skeptical either way, it seems muddled to me,” Dan Courser said. “There’s an opening for either, it could be or not. My past relationship with them (makes me think) no, I don’t want to believe that about them. But, I also think why would you be recording a conversation?”
The former Courser staffers have denied involvement.
Like Gamrat, Courser hasn’t resigned.
In June, Courser introduced bills that would exempt state employees from performing same-sex marriages and require them to be performed by clergy. Gamrat co-sponsored the legislation, calling the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges a “sad day in our nation.”
Just a couple of nice folks.
