The two former Republican Michigan state representatives caught up in a crazy sex scandal are back in the headlines again, but this time they are each facing up to 15 years in prison.
Todd Courser and Cindy Gamrat were both removed from office late last year. Courser resigned and Gamrat was expelled by House members after their sex scandal became public late night news fodder.
The case was bizarre from the beginning. Gamrat and Courser, both tea party members, were elected into office in 2014. Even though they were both married, they ended up in a classic workplace sexual affair. When their affair was discovered, they devised a ridiculous alternative story which they thought would be deviant enough that it would make the true story seem tame if it came to light.
Courser set up a false "scoop" in which he was exposed as a sexual deviant who was addicted to porn and who paid for sex with men that he picked up at bars in Lansing. The fictitious email was sent to a variety of reporters in Lansing and made it appear that Courser and Gamrat were the victims of a smear campaign.
No one bought it. This story was so ludicrous that it actually brought more attention to them both and their affair to an even brighter light. Courser justified his insane actions by saying that he was reacting to text messages that he received that threatened to expose the affair. Detroit Free Press reports that an investigation into the text messages revealed that Gamrat's husband, Joe, was behind the anonymous messages. The Lapeer County Prosecutor investigated the text messages but declined to press charges.
The representatives were accused of a litany of crimes, including lying under oath and using state resources to cover up their affair. After a lengthy investigation, the Attorney General, Bill Schuette, charged Courser with four felonies, including one count of perjury for lying under oath and three counts of Misconduct in Office. He faces a maximum penalty of up to 15 years in prison and/or up to $10,000 in fines. Gamrat was charged with two felony counts of Misconduct in Office. Those carry a penalty of up to five years in prison and/or a maximum fine of $10,000, reports WLNS news.
It isn't like they are the first politicians or coworkers to have an affair. If they had just admitted it in the first place, they wouldn't be facing years in prison.
