A Republican politician made up a gay sex scandal about himself to hide his heterosexual affair
Todd Courser, a former Republican state representative (House of Representatives)
A former Republican US state representative has accepted a plea deal after he told a staffer to “out” him as having sex with a man in an alley in a mass email.
Far-right Tea Party politician Todd Courser made the bizarre request to email thousands of Republicans in Michigan about the fictional rendezvous in 2015, according to The Detroit News.
The email said that Courser was caught having “male-on-male paid for sex behind a prominent Lansing nightclub.”
But the attorney’s elaborate effort to be called a “Godless Addicted Monster” and “a bisexual porn addicted sex deviant” was, in reality, a ruse.
The representative was threatened with blackmail by the husband of fellow Republican representative Cindy Gamrat.
This was because Courser and Gamrat–who are both married with children–were having an affair.
To Courser, 43, he wanted to use a “controlled burn” strategy, a phase he used three times in a recorded meeting with staffers on 19 May, to “inoculate the herd.”
Moreover, he wanted the “smear campaign” to be so outrageous that, if the truth of his affair were to leak, it would seem “mild by comparison.”
Republican rep tried to cover his affair with gay sex scandal
The pair of politicians had risen the Republican ranks over the years, scoring seats in the House of Representatives (the lower house of the US Congress).
Gamrat and Courser often worked together in the state house, with staffers splitting time between them.
“Everything in the office was done and intertwined around their relationship.
“From time management to who’s going to get what bills,” said former aide Joshua Cline.
Cline later confronted the two lawmakers for their “unprofessional” behaviour in the office.
But when the plan was made public, Courser, who has four children, resigned from the House. Though, he initially refused and claimed Republicans were blackmailing him.
Furthermore, Gamrat, who has three children, was removed from office by the state house.
Kevin Cotter, the Speaker of the Michigan House, initiated an investigation into their use of public funds to cover up their affair.
Courser was charged with four felonies his role in the scandal on 2016 by Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette.
He then pled no contest last week to one count of wilful neglect of duty by public officer. However, he might also face a charge of perjury.
“Today’s decision by Todd Courser to plead no-contest to a one-year misdemeanor may be the wisest decision he has made in years,” said Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.
“This case has had a long, torturous history and his decision to acknowledge responsibility for his actions is long overdue.”
Courser’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for later this month.
He could receive up to one year in prison and a $,1000 fine.
