LANSING, Mich., Feb. 28 (UPI) — Disgraced former Michigan state Rep. Todd Courser, just a day after he was hit with felony misconduct charges related to an extramarital affair with another state lawmaker, said the allegations against him are “nonsensical.”
Courser, on his Facebook page Saturday, said the charges “are political in nature and have come at a time to take heat off the misconduct of others.” He said Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette charged him “with a nonsensical claim of perjury and three counts of misconduct under a rarely used and vague ‘catchall’ statute.” He said none of the charges involve taxpayer funds, though that was used as the reason for the House investigation.
Courser resigned in September after he and fellow state Rep. Cindy Gamrat allegedly attempted to cover up their affair with a bizarre story involving male prostitutes and drugs.
He later said he orchestrated the story after someone threatened to expose the affair if he refused to resign. It later came to light that Gamrat’s husband sent Courser the anonymous text messages.
A House investigation determined that both state representatives engaged in “deceptive, deceitful and outright dishonest conduct.” The investigation accused the two of directing their staff to facilitate their affair and blurring the lines between official and political work.
Courser faces three charges of misconduct in office and one count of perjury. Gamrat, in the same case, faces two counts of misconduct in office.
Schuette announced the charges Friday. The misconduct charges are felonies with a maximum of five years in prison or up to a $10,000 fine.
“Todd Courser will continue to defend himself against these baseless and unconstitutional charges,” said Matt DePerno, a Portage attorney representing Courser said Saturday. “He is confident that the truth will come out and that these baseless charges will be shown to be just another extension of corrupt government.,” Michigan Live reported.
