In this Jan. 14, 2015 photo, Rep. Cindy Gamrat, R-Plainwell, and Rep Todd Courser, R-Lapeer wave to reporters in the House of Representatives in Lansing. A Michigan House leader on Friday, Aug. 7, 2015 requested an investigation into allegations that Courser orchestrated the distribution of a fictional email claiming he had sex with a male prostitute in a bid to conceal an extramarital relationship. In audio recordings obtained by the Detroit News, Courser said the email was designed to create "a complete smear campaign" about him and Gamrat so a revelation about their relationship would seem "mild by comparison." Dale G. Young /Detroit News via AP
Two of Michigan's leading tea party voices and anti-gay leaders in the state legislature are refusing to step down after it was revealed they have been having an affair with each other, and tried to use taxpayer resources to cover it up. At least one of the lawmakers is now vowing to stay and fight even amidst growing calls for both to resign.
Reps. Todd Courser, R-Lapeer, and Cindy Gamrat, R-Plainwell, found themselves at the center of an unfolding scandal on Friday when the Detroit News published audio from meetings between the two lawmakers and a former employee of their offices, Ben Graham.
Courser on Monday released a bizarre 27 minute long audio statement on the unfolding scandal in which he committed not to resign; but then went a step further and accused establishment Republicans of "blackmailing" him over his affair with Gamrat. He refers to himself as a "broken messenger" for limiting government and cutting spending in the audio statement.
Gamrat has thus far remained silent on the matter.
The revelations led Republican Speaker of the House Kevin Cotter to direct the House Business Office to conduct an investigation into whether any House rules or laws were broken. If House rules were violated, the pair could face expulsion from the body; if laws were violated, the investigation could be handed over to the attorney general and eventually prosecuted. Also on Friday, Congresswoman Candice Miller called on Courser to resign. Courser has said he is contemplating a run to replace Miller in Congress.
Monday, Sen. Rick Jones, R-Grand Ledge, told Between The Lines it's time for the pair to resign.
"They should resign because they can no longer be effective representatives to their home districts," Jones, who chairs the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee, said. "In the past when people asked me why I'm not a member of the tea party, I used to say: 'There is no 'T' in Republican.' Now I will say: 'Because I don't want to be in Todd Courser's herd.'"
In the first tape reported by the Detroit News, Courser can be heard cajoling the young political activist turned staffer to send smear email to GOP operatives and the media accusing Courser of being a "bisexual porn-addicted sexual deviant" who had sex with male commercial sex workers behind local Lansing night clubs. That conversation occurred in Courser's Lapeer law office. The email, the audio reveals, was written by Courser himself and was designed to "inoculate" his conservative, anti-gay followers against the likely revelations that Courser and Gamrat were having an affair.
In his audio statement, Courser now says he created the email sham as a way to uncover the participants in a "blackmail" scheme designed to keep him inline with pro-government political establishment types.
"The email in question was really put in motion to disrupt, disrupt the blackmailer and to give me some clues as to what their ability was as far as surveillance over my life and the threats they were making," Courser said.
The lawmaker — who introduced legislation to require a member of the clergy to sign every marriage license in the state in order for it to be valid — claims "the Lansing mafia" has had him under surveillance since he took office.
In a second tape, Courser and Gamrat talk with Graham about the email and the affair. Graham again encourages the duo to resign. It was during this conversation that Courser indicated someone named "Ike" had sent out the controversial email.
The Detroit News reported Sunday that the man identified as Ike in the recordings was Immanuel "Ike" Eickholdt. The 51-year-old is a long time associate of Courser's who ran as a Democrat in the three way primary last year to challenge the Republican primary, who was ultimately Courser. Eikholdt told the News he had nothing to do with the smear email.
Republican blogger Brandon Hall, who has a conviction for theft from a Grand Haven High School fundraiser for cancer while he served on the school board for that district and is facing criminal charges on election fraud, reported over the weekend that a primary flier distributed in the race last August accusing Courser of being a "child molester" was another false flag to get sympathy and attention for Courser. Hall runs West Michigan Politics, and he was one of the first to report on the smear email against Courser, as well as report that the smear may have come from Republican sources.
On Friday, Between The Lines reported that it had been aware of rumors of an affair between the two lawmakers for some months.
The two conservative lawmakers rolled into Lansing closely aligned with Rep. Gary Glenn, R-Midland. Glenn is a longtime foe of the LGBT community and president of the American Family Association of Michigan.
When the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples had a constitutional right to marriage, Courser took to the internet to claim the decision was evidence "we are indeed living in the last days."
"His decision will be a toe hold and from this decision we will see many more decisions that curtail our first amendment rights of free speech, freedom of religion, freedom of association and of course freedom of conscience," Courser claimed in his July 4 post. "This decision will unleash the power and scope of government to further society by its power of persuasion and its hammer of threat of governmental persecution. Every regulatory apparatus of government will be focused henceforth on indoctrinating children and the greater society that same sex marriage is moral and every bit accepted, preferred to traditional marriage. Anyone who disagrees with this new paradigm will be vilified as a homophobic bigot. Some of these activists are the most intolerant viscous (sic) hate mongers who will demonize anyone who opposes their tyrannical agenda. It works and virtually none are left in elected leadership who will now stand and oppose them publicly as they destroy our rights to freedom of religion and freedom of speech."
The Detroit Free Press identifies some of the legislation the moral crusading duo have introduced since taking office in January:
? Allow eligible people to purchase and carry Ñ openly or concealed Ñ weapons without registering the gun with the state or getting a concealed pistol license.
? Eliminate straight-party ticket voting.
? Eliminate the requirement for marriage licenses and only allow clergy to perform marriage ceremonies.
? Prohibit the imposition of income taxes on individuals or businesses and repeal the Michigan business tax.
? Provide all the protections afforded to individuals to fetuses.
? Provide protections for medical professionals and hospitals who refuse service because of religious objections.
? Allocate Electoral College votes by congressional district.
