Ha ha! The holier-than-thou bunch is always up to no good!
A Michigan state representative distributed a fake e-mail that suggested he had sex with a male prostitute so he could hide his relationship with another Republican state representative who is also a home-school mom, according tothe Detroit News.
Both lawmakers are Christian conservatives who frequently refer to their faith.
State Rep. Todd Courser, a married father of four, said in an audio recording that the e-mail was intended to create a “complete smear campaign” of false claims so that a public revelation about his relationship with state Rep. Cindy Gamrat would seem “mild by comparison.”
The Detroit News interviews suggested that the freshmen representatives used their taxpayer-funded offices to maintain and cover up their relationship. The newspaper describes the two as “socially conservative legislators who often invoke their Christian faith in pursuit of new legislation governing gun rights, abortion and marriage.” They found support through tea party activism and formed their own legislative coalition.
Calls to Courser and Gamrat were not returned immediately on Friday.
Courser in mid-May told a former House aide to send a mass e-mail to Republican activists and operatives appearing to be from an anonymous political enemy who said Courser was “caught behind a Lansing nightclub” having sex with a man, according to the News. Both representatives fired their aides, including the aide who sent the e-mail, without explanation.
During two meetings recorded by the aide, Courser and Gamrat, who is also married and has three children, did not dispute the aide’s characterization of their relationship as an extramarital affair. Courser and Gamrat combined their office operations, having three aides work for both of them.
Courser confirmed that it was his voice as a Detroit News reporter played the recording but disputed the legality of the recording. Laws regarding permission to audio record vary by state. A Michigan Court of Appeals ruling said participants in a conversation may record a discussion without receiving permission of other participants.
