State representative tries to hide affair by spreading rumors about himself

Updated


Polls Find Americans Are Forgiving Of Cheating Politicians
Polls Find Americans Are Forgiving Of Cheating Politicians



Michigan State House speaker Kevin Cotter is considering opening an investigation into state representative Todd Courser after his aide was mysteriously fired — following his refusal to help his boss fabricate rumors about his sex life in order to hide the fact that he was having an extramarital affair with his colleague.

Cotter and state representative Cindy Gamrat are both tea-party Republicans who have sponsored language against same-sex marriage and abortion rights. They shared offices and staffers — despite the fact that their districts were on opposite ends of the state. The staffers sometimes complained about the setup, calling it "unprofessional."

Courser wanted his aide, Ben Graham, to send a mass email to Republican activists in Michigan alleging that the state representative had been "caught behind a Lansing nightclub" having sex with a male prostitute. The email also notes that Courser "is a bi-sexual porn addicted sex deviant!"

"It will make anything else that comes out after that — that isn't a video — mundane, tame by comparison," Courser told his aide, according to audio Graham released to the Detroit News after getting fired.

The aide told Courser that he didn't want to take part in a cover-up. "This kind of stuff never stays hidden. It's going to blow up, and I can't help cover it up. ... My best advice, consider resigning," Graham texted, according to an article in which the relationship is revealed and has been turned into a national news story that will perhaps influence a future Arrested Development plotline involving Gob Bluth. The email was eventually sent by someone, from the address georgerathburn520@gmail.com.

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