Embattled Michigan Rep Todd Courser Releases Texts From Supposed Blackmailer

Yesterday the bizarre political soap opera surrounding Todd

Todd Courser /  Cindy Gamrat

Courser and his alleged affair with fellow State Representative Cindy Gamrat got even stranger.  Todd Courser stated that he was being blackmailed about his relationship with Gamrat and yesterday he released texts and named names.

Todd Courser, named Flushing Michigan political consultant David Forsmark as one of his blackmailers. 

 David Forsmark, owner of Winning Strategies a political consulting firm and writer for PJ Media and The Atheist Conservative, denies contacting Todd Courser and states doesn't even have his phone number.  Winning Strategies has been in existence since 1991 according to Manta and has helped hundreds of political candidates on both sides of the isle. 

David Forsmark's bio on his business website reads: "For 20 years before that, he wrote book, movie and concert reviews as a stringer for the Flint Journal, a midsize daily newspaper. David was also the popular culture critic for Credo, a weekly newspaper "for Catholic and other Christians" where he became possibly the first Baptist to win 2 Catholic press awards."

His work has also appeared in National Review Online, St. Austin Review and other publications

  

David Forsmark

Even if Courser was being blackmailed he should have come clean and allowed authorities to investigate.  Courser should have known he was not above the law, especially as an attorney.  Couser has stated he has contacted authorities yet the State Police have no record.  The Attorney General's office is remaining quiet on the issue.

Here is the press release Courser posted on his Facebook Wall for the media to pick up  and  the screen shots of the alleged blackmailer:

Representative Todd Courser today has released blackmail text messages he received since May showing that he was subject to threats and cyber-spying.The texts show Courser was told to resign his office or else information about his personal indiscretions would be released. Courser said he has been in contact with authorities over a period of time and is urging that the proper authorities investigate the matter.

He said he will be exonerated on claims that he used state resources and staff improperly. Rather, Courser said the actions that he took regarding his staff was meant to try and pin down exactly who is blackmailer was. "These texts from the blackmailer show a lot. They are very intimate. They were freakishly stalking. It was in this environment that I was acting to find out who was involved in the blackmailing," Courser said.

"They involved access to conversations, texts, locations, and family info including private cell data. It was constant surveillance from January forward." Based on select information he released and who he release that information to, he has concluded that his former staff worked with political consultant David Forsmark to concoct a plot to remove him from office.

Only Josh Cline, Ben Graham and Keith Allard had the access to the information he was confronted with by his blackmailer. Courser said the blackmailer told him he was meeting with the Speakers office on August 3, which goes to his suspicions that the Speaker was somehow involved in a plot to remove him. "I'm Not sure how forth coming the Speakers office is with their appointments, but if they are indeed investigating I am not sure they can investigate themselves and their role in this," he said. "How involved were they? What did they know? When did they know it? "I welcome an investigation into the allegations against me; and into my claim that there is a blackmailing effort that is ongoing and attempting me to resign; if there was any misuse of state resources then there should be consequences; I am confident with full and forthright investigation that I will be fully exonerated and that no state resources were ever used inappropriately. I asked Mr. Graham to assist on his own time and he declined." 

Courser acknowledges the May 20 email he sent was a low point in his life and "inexcusable." It was the product of an immense amount of stress about his personal safety and that of his family combined with a lack of food and sleep. Blackmailer urges Courser to resign or information about his personal indiscretions would be released. "In no way could I ever submit to that sort of pressure and so I simply refused and instead set out to do what I could to expose the person or persons involved," he said.Courser said he did not engage with the blackmailer, who also was contacting Representative Gamrat and other contacts of Courser and Gamrat, including financial supporters.