1 Michigan Tea Partier Resigns, Other Ousted After Bogus Gay Sex Scandal

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 i... 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) DETROIT FREE PRESS OUT; HUFFINGTON POST OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT MORE LESS
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After faking a gay sex scandal to cover up an affair, Michigan state Rep. Todd Courser (R) resigned and Rep. Cindy Gamrat (R) was expelled from the Michigan House early Friday morning.

Courser’s alleged extramarital affair with Gamrat was exposed by the Detroit News in August after Courser reportedly asked one of his aides to leak that Courser was spotted with a male prostitute. Courser later claimed that he faked the gay sex scandal to expose blackmailers.

The Michigan House disciplinary committee recommended on Thursday that both Courser and Gamrat be expelled for their roles in the affair and cover-up, prompting a lengthy debate on the state House floor.

Early on in the debate, Democratic lawmakers refused to vote to expel the Tea Party lawmakers until they had more information on the Republican-led investigation into the lawmakers’ actions, according to the Detroit Free Press. After an initial vote to expel Courser and Gamrat failed on Thursday night, the state House reconvened shortly after midnight to try again.

After the House added an amendment requiring probes by the police and state attorney general, additional Democrats came around to expulsion, according to the Detroit Free Press.

As it became clear that he might be expelled, Courser resigned from his seat shortly after 3 a.m. on Friday morning.

“I felt is was the appropriate thing to do. I put everybody through a whole bunch, my family, constituents and the people in this room,” Courser said, according to the Detroit Free Press. “You go 14-15 hours later, they would have been doing a third vote. I felt they were just going to go until they got their answer.”

Yet Gamrat held out. She had told reporters that she was promised censure by Republican leadership when she signed a statement about her role in the affair and cover-up, according to MLive.

“I know in my heart the mistakes I’ve made are not all the mistakes in the report,” she said on the state House floor early Friday morning, according to MLive. “I still believe my actions warrant censure, but not expulsion.”

She was expelled in a 91-12 vote around 4 a.m. on Friday morning, according to the Detroit Free Press.

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Notable Replies

  1. Evidently even the Republicans didn’t like their sorry tea party asses.

  2. Kim Davis would have zero problem with issuing either a marriage license. Because Jeebus

  3. As per usual, it’s rarely the act, its the cover up…

  4. As long as the gay affair was fake, then it’s all good with her.

  5. with both of them having unexpected time off on their hands by 4 a.m., maybe they had time for a quickie before getting their kids off to school.

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