Michigan politician uses fake scandal to cover up real one: Report

[spaminator]

Michigan politician uses fake scandal to cover up real one: Report
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS First posted: Friday, August 07, 2015 03:02 PM EDT | Updated: Friday, August 07, 2015 03:17 PM EDT
LANSING, Mich. -- A regional lawmaker in the United States had an email sent to his Republican supporters falsely claiming he had been caught having sex with a male prostitute, apparently believing such a smear campaign would help cover up an alleged extramarital affair between him and another state lawmaker, a newspaper reported Friday.
The Detroit News obtained two recordings secretly made in May by a former aide of Todd Courser, a member of the Michigan House of Representatives. In the recordings, Courser asks the aide, Ben Graham, to email Republican activists and operatives from an anonymous account to create "a complete smear campaign" about him.
In the recordings, Courser tells Graham that he and state Rep. Cindy Gamrat, with whom he worked closely together, received identical text messages about their relationship that day from an unknown number. Courser wonders aloud whether someone had pictures, video or audio recordings of him and Gamrat.
Neither Courser, a married father of four, nor Gamrat, a married mother of three, directly confirmed or denied having a sexual relationship during the recorded conversations. But they also didn't dispute Graham's characterization of their relationship as an extramarital affair, the newspaper reported.
Courser said the email he wanted Graham to send would "inoculate the herd" -- an apparent reference to his and Gamrat's supporters.
"It will make anything else that comes out after that -- that isn't a video -- mundane, tame by comparison," Courser told the aide.
Graham said when he refused to send the email, he was stripped of some of duties and eventually fired in July. The sexually explicit email was received by Republicans in late May, two days following Courser's recorded meeting with Graham. During the meeting, Courser reads aloud portions of a draft email.
Both lawmakers declined to comment to Detroit News. Courser confirmed "that's my voice" as a reporter played the recording in his office lobby, but he disputed the legality of the recording.
House Speaker Kevin Cotter said he will ask a nonpartisan body in the legislature to investigate the incident.
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)

Michigan politician uses fake scandal to cover up real one: Report | World | New

 

[tay]

Family values crowd strikes again...............I do find it amusing that he thought that if he said he was doing the deed with another male; that would be okay..........








Two Married Anti-Gay Tea Party Lawmakers Caught In Affair Blame Gays






Republican state Reps. Todd Courser and Cindy Gamrat on Thursday introduced a four-bill package that would prohibit clerks, judges and other government officials from performing weddings. The legislation would require all marriage certificates to be signed by a religious leader.


http://www.mlive.com/lansing-news/index.ssf/2015/06/same-sex_couples_gay_marriage.html








R) Todd Courser planned the distribution of a fictional email alleging he had sex with a male prostitute in a bid to conceal his relationship with Rep. Cindy Gamrat




Michigan House Speaker Kevin Cotter is ordering an investigation into allegations that freshman state Reps. Todd Courser and Cindy Gamrat used their offices and staff in an apparent attempt to cover up a personal relationship.

The Detroit News on Friday published raw and transcribed audio recorded by former House aide Ben Graham, who had worked for Courser until he was fired in July, when Gamrat also parted ways with a top aide.

Courser, R-Lapeer, reportedly told Graham to send a fake and salacious email about himself to Republican operatives, alleging that the lawmaker had been caught having sex with a male prostitute behind a Lansing nightclub.

The email was an intentionally outlandish "smear campaign" designed to blunt any claims about a relationship between him and Gamrat, Courser said on one recording, making them seem "tame by comparison."

"In a controlled burn, you do a little bit of truth mixed in with a lot of lies," Courser reportedly told his aide during a conversation in his Lapeer law office May 19.

The lawmakers, who are each married and have children, reportedly apologized to Graham, who asked them about "an affair" and how long it had been going on. They did not dispute the characterization or directly elaborate.

Courser and Gamrat, both tea party favorites and social conservatives, have shared resources and staff since taking office in January. Graham and Gamrat aide Keith Allard had received raises earlier in the year before they were let go in July.

Gamrat told The News she would not discuss "staff-related issues." Courser confirmed his voice on one of the tapes but questioned the legality of the recording itself.

The email in question was sent from a georgerathburn520@gmail.com account, and perhaps others. MLive obtained a copy originally sent May 20 but was unable to contact or confirm the sender.

The graphic message, written in block paragraphs broken up by exclamation marks, made a series of provocative claims, alleging that Courser is a drug user and "bi-sexual porn addicted sex deviant" who was caught having "male on male paid sex" behind a Lansing nightclub.

The email also accused Gamrat of covering for him, suggesting she was removed from the House Republican caucus for doing so.

Cotter had kicked Gamrat from the caucus in April after she allegedly broke confidentiality rules by posting a comment on Facebook during an off-campus budget workshop.

Gamrat, who rose to prominence as a tea party activist and organizer of an annual "grassroots powwow," lost her bid to fill an open Republican National Committeewoman post on May 10.

Courser told MLive last month that he still was considering a run to replace outgoing U.S. Rep. Candice Miller in Michigan's 10th Congressional District.



http://www.mlive.com/lansing-news/index.ssf/2015/08/michigan_reps_courser_gamrat_f.html

 

[taxslave]

But they got gawd on their side.

 

[spaminator]

Michigan politician won't resign after orchestrating smear campaign against himself
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS First posted: Monday, August 10, 2015 11:13 AM EDT | Updated: Monday, August 10, 2015 01:46 PM EDT
LANSING, Mich. -- A Michigan state lawmaker said he won't resign after sending an email to Republican supporters falsely claiming he was caught having sex with a male prostitute -- in an apparent attempt to deflect attention from a real affair.
The Detroit News, citing audio recordings, reported Friday that state legislator Todd Courser had someone send the email to distract attention from his alleged extramarital affair with another lawmaker. He said in a statement released Monday he was the target of a blackmail attempt.
"My actions in and around these events in the email that was sent to misdirect attention were my doing both in planning and execution," Courser said in a nearly 30-minute audio file posted on his campaign website. "No one else has the responsibility. ... They were mine and mine alone to carry."
It's unclear who actually sent the email.
The Michigan House of Representatives Business Office reviewed email and personnel records over the weekend, The Detroit Free Press reported. The investigation is to determine whether Courser and Republican state Rep. Cindy Gamrat broke House rules or whether there's evidence of illegal behaviour.
Gamrat hasn't commented.
In the audio statement released Monday, Courser apologizes to his family, his constituents and Gamrat's family. He blames former staffers for conspiring with others to bring him down and vowed to learn the identity of the alleged blackmailer.
The News obtained two recordings secretly made in May by a former aide of Courser, a social conservative backed by the conservative tea party movement. In the recordings, Courser asks the aide, Ben Graham, to email Republican activists and operatives from an anonymous account to create "a complete smear campaign" about him.
In the recordings, Courser tells Graham that he and Gamrat, with whom he took the unusual step of combining office operations, received identical text messages about their relationship that day from an unknown number. Courser wonders aloud whether someone had pictures, video or audio recordings of him and Gamrat.
Neither Courser, a married father of four, nor Gamrat, a married mother of three, directly confirmed or denied having a sexual relationship during the recorded conversations. But they also didn't dispute Graham's characterization of their relationship as an extramarital affair, the newspaper reported.
Graham said when he refused to send the email, he was stripped of some of his duties before Courser fired him in early July.
The sexually explicit email was received by Republicans on May 20 and 21, the two days following Courser's recorded meeting with Graham. During the meeting, Courser reads aloud portions of a draft email.
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)

Michigan politician won't resign after orchestrating smear campaign against hims

 

[tay]

After an all-day voting marathon, state Rep. Todd Courser and state Rep. Cindy Gamrat are gone:

Todd Courser resigns, Cindy Gamrat expelled from Michigan House in wake of sex scandal

Todd Courser and Cindy Gamrat, embattled lawmakers accused of misconduct and misusing taxpayer resources to hide their extra-marital affair, are no longer representatives in the Michigan House.

Courser, R-Lapeer, resigned at 3:12 a.m. on Friday as the House prepared for a third vote on a resolution to expel him from office.

One hour later, the House voted 91-12 to expel Gamrat, R-Plainwell, making her just the fourth lawmaker ever to be removed from the Michigan Legislature by her peers.

Gamrat was immediately escorted from the chambers, and then the state Capitol, by House sergeants. She declined to speak with the media.

The resignation and expulsion capped a spectacular fall for Courser and Gamrat, who won election last year behind a wave of tea party support and a socially conservative platform, including a defense of traditional marriage.