Speaker Cotter Investigating Courser-Gamrat Affair, Cover Up

On Friday August 7^th, about three hours after The Detroit News posted its Courser-Gamrat story online, Speaker Kevin Cotter (R-Mount Pleasant) announced he instructed the House Business Office to conduct an investigation into the matter.

“The office will review the matter and determine whether there was a violation of the House rules or any evidence of illegal behavior, and will follow-up with any and all appropriate measures, including disciplinary steps,” Mr. Cotter said in a statement. “We will not stand for any violation of House rules or law, and we will not let anyone’s actions tarnish this institution or take away from the work we do every day to improve the lives of the hard-working men and women of this great state.”

House Business Office Director Tim Bowlin could not discuss specifics of the investigation at that time but said details on the scope of the investigation and timeline could be available in the next two weeks.

There was no immediate announcement of a criminal inquiry and the Department of Attorney General has no comment. Gideon D'Assandro, spokesperson for Mr. Cotter, said the business office will turn over any evidence of illegal activity found to the proper authorities. Mr. D’Assandro said The Detroit News report was the “first evidence we’ve seen” of any wrongdoing.

There has been speculation about what Mr. Cotter’s office knew of the incident and when they knew it. Several sources said the Speaker’s office knew the staffers in Representative Todd Courser’s (R-Silverwood) and Representative Cindy Gamrat’s (R-Plainwell) office were unhappy with their office environment. It was not clear if the speaker’s office had any knowledge of state resources being used to cover up the affair.

posted by PAA Online , Friday, August 14, 2015 12:47 PM
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