|
 Representatives Todd Courser and Cindy Gamrat, who are both Tea
Party members, have admitted the affair and have asked to be
censured, which would allow them to remain in office.
They apologized during a committee hearing for using their staff to
attempt to cover up the affair, which was revealed in August by the
Detroit News.
The newspaper said recordings it had obtained showed Courser had
hatched a plan to send an email claiming he had sex with a male
prostitute. The idea, Courser has said, would have lessened the blow
of his actual affair, if it was ever revealed.
The four Republican representatives on the special committee voted
in favor of expelling their colleagues, while the two Democrats
abstained.
The full state House of Representatives could vote as soon as
Thursday afternoon. It takes a two-thirds affirmative vote to remove
lawmakers.
Only three Michigan lawmakers have ever been expelled since 1878, a
Michigan House official said.
[to top of second column] |
Courser and Gamrat could not be reached for comment on Thursday.
(Reporting by Ryan Felton in Detroit; Editing by David Bailey and
Mohammad Zargham)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
