Cover Up On The Investigation Of Courser & Gamrat?

Two former Michigan Republican state representatives Todd Courser

Courser & Gamrat

and Cindy Gamrat have returned to their private lives after a sex scandal and bizzare cover-up and voters declined to return them to office in November in their comeback bids.

However bills associated with one of the state’s most unusual sex scandals are adding up. The House of Representatives Business Office had paid $80,177 to the Dickinson Wright Law Firm in Lansing for investigative reports into actions that led to Courser’s 3 am morning resignation and Gamrat’s expulsion on Sept. 11.

The bill to the Dickinson Wright firm also includes legal fees to defend lawsuits filed by former House staffers Ben Graham and Keith Allard, who were fired by Courser and Gamrat in July before the sex scandal and fake gay sex cover up broke, the Detroit Free Press reports.

December bills, including the costs associated with a whistleblower lawsuit filed against the House of Representatives by Graham and Allard last fall, have not yet been received.

Graham and Allard were fired on July 6 without explanation, they said because they had reported ethical and campaign finance violations by Courser and Gamrat to House Speaker Kevin Cotter’s office.

Progress Michigan, which received the legal bills under the Freedom of Information Act, said "the use of an outside law firm was an inappropriate use of public funds".

Lonnie Scott, the group’s executive director, told the Free Press that Cotter, R-Mount Pleasant, “bungled” the investigation into the lawmakers’ conduct and “should use his taxpayer-funded attorney to defend the House and pay for any outside counsel himself.”

Kevin Cotter

Gideon D’Assandro, a spokesman for Cotter, said the issues surrounding the removal of the lawmakers were constitutionally complicated and the House would have had to hire extra lawyers or pay for the state attorney general’s office to do the work.

“The Speaker would rather be deliberative and do it right,” D’Assandro told the Free Press.

BREAKING: STATE REP TODD COUSER'S AND CINDY GAMRAT'S COMPUTERS AND PAPERS SEIZED

Garmrat & Courser

Michigan State House officials have seized all computers and paper records from State Representatives Todd Courser's and Cindy Gamrat's offices. This is an investigation as to whether taxpayer funds were used to hide their relationship. 

Speaking to the media, Keven Cotter said "All evidence is protected.  Nothing can be deleted.  We have the servers.  We have all of these things.  So there's nothing that's at risk of being lost at this point."

The story of a potential affair broke about a month ago when Brandon Hall of West Michigan Politics got a tip and reported the story.  The story broke wide open with the release of a recording potentially showing Todd Courser incriminating himself to a staffer.

In a recording in response to the story that broke on Friday, in the 27 minutes Courser said her was being blackmailed by

Speaker of the House Kevin Cotter

those in Lansing to playball or the recording would be released.  In an attempt to throw the blackmailer off Courser said he created false flag e-mail.

Courser in his response today blamed his staffers for the blackmail and that they were part of the establishment of the Republican Party.

State Representative Tim Greimel

House Minority Leader Tim Greimel, D-Auburn Hills, called Monday for an independent investigation by Republican Attorney General Bill Schuette’s office.

“The allegations of wiretapping, blackmail and the use of taxpayer dollars to cover-up an affair between (Courser and Gamrat) ... are serious and demand a full and impartial investigation,” Greimel said in a statement. “There is no place in the Legislature for people who are engaged in criminal conduct, and when accusations of this magnitude are raised, the taxpayers of Michigan deserve a full investigation.”