A House Business Office investigation into Michigan Reps. Todd Courser, R-Lapeer, and Cindy Gamrat, R-Plainwell, alleges numerous instances of deceptive and "outright dishonest" conduct to cover up their extra-marital affair.
The investigation accuses Republicans Courser and Gamrat of lying to investigators and showing a lack of respect to constituents.
From the report:
There is testimonial evidence that Representative Courser and Representative Gamrat requested and required House staff to aid in the cover-up of their affair … they were required to lie about the Representatives’ whereabouts, including to family, to facilitate the secrecy of their romantic meetings.
The report also found that Gamrat wasn't telling the truth when she said that she did not know about Courser's attempt to divert attention away from their affair using an outlandish e-mail. Courser has admitted to orchestrating a fictional email that said he was caught with a male prostitute - to make his affair with Gamrat less believable if it was exposed.
From the report:
Representative Gamrat unconditionally stated in her interview that she did not know about the false email before it had been sent. She also states at her August 14th press conference that she “did not author nor assist in sending the email in question” and was “unaware that this email was sent and also the content until a reporter pointed it out to me.” However, this statement is refuted by both audio recordings and staff testimony.
House Speaker Kevin Cotter has created a special committee to investigate the lawmakers' fitness for office.
Courser and Gamrat have apologized but declined to resign.
