Todd Courser: Michigan Politician Undone By Sex Scandal Resigns, His Lover Expelled From Michigan House

Todd Courser, the Michigan politician who attempted to concoct a gay prostitution scandal to distract from his affair with a female colleague, has resigned, and his affair partner, Cindy Gamrat, has been expelled from the Michigan House of Representatives, MSN is reporting.

Two Michigan lawmakers lose their seats after affair, bizarre cover-up http://t.co/w457URPnOD | Detroit News via AP pic.twitter.com/O1cZsB1cCb

— POLITICO (@politico) September 11, 2015

As previously reported by the Inquisitr, the socially conservative Republican Todd Courser had been carrying on an affair with another staunch conservative, Cindy Gamrat — that is, until an anonymous blackmailer threatened to expose him.

So, Courser concocted a plan: he created a fake email, purported to come from an anonymous political enemy, that suggested he was caught with a gay prostitute. To add “credibility” to the email, Courser jazzed it up with salacious statements that he was a “bi-sexual porn addicted sex deviant” and “gun-toting Bible thumping… freak.” Courser reasoned that the email would make his affair less believable should it eventually be exposed to the media.

Courser directed a staff member, Ben Graham, to send the email to “inoculate the herd,” as he called it. Unfortunately for Courser, Graham secretly recorded that conversation, then gave the recording to The Detroit Free Press. The surreptitious recording would ultimately become Courser’s undoing; unfortunately, the breach of protocol also cost Graham his job.

Following weeks of political maneuvering, including an around-the-clock legislative session that ran into the wee hours of Friday morning, Courser submitted his resignation, effective 3:15 a.m. Friday morning. Speaking to reporters later, Courser said that he realized his days in the Michigan House were numbered.

“I just felt like it was the appropriate moment to do it. I put everybody through a whole bunch — across the state, my own family, the constituents, the people in this room…. Whether it was the third vote or the fourth vote or the fifth vote, they were going to eventually get me.”

Courser’s affair partner, Cindy Gamrat, will also be leaving the Michigan House, albeit under slightly different circumstances; by a 91-12 vote, according to WXYZ (Detroit), Gamrat was expelled from the House of Representatives. Reports indicate she was escorted from the floor of the House by security personnel.

Courser and Gamrat’s troubles may not yet be over, however. Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, in a statement, said that he is concerned about possible criminal actions by the two while in office.

“I support the Michigan State Police in opening an investigation into any criminal activity by state Reps. Courser and Gamrat as requested by the Legislature in House Resolutions 141 & 145. This matter needs to be resolved and an investigation by MSP will provide even further clarity. I hope this investigation helps bring closure to the issue for all involved.”

As of this post, neither Todd Courser nor Cindy Gamrat are being investigated for criminal wrongdoing. However, Michigan State Police are investigating the alleged blackmail attempt against Courser.

[Image courtesy of Shutterstock/Andrey Burmakin]