Watch CBS News

Ex-Michigan Lawmaker Expelled In Sex Scandal Sues For Back Pay

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WWJ/AP) - A former Michigan lawmaker kicked out of the House because of a sex scandal says she was illegally expelled and wants back pay.

Cindy Gamrat, a Republican from Allegan County, says her rights were violated by House leaders in 2015. She filed a new lawsuit last week in federal court in Grand Rapids.

Gamrat is seeking back pay as well as money for distress and humiliation. She says she had struck a deal to be censured, not removed from office.

Attorney Sarah Riley Howard, a lawyer who represents two former House aides, says the lawsuit "has no merit."

Gamrat's former husband is also named in the lawsuit. He's accused of using listening devices to try to catch Gamrat and Todd Courser, a Lapeer County Republican.

Courser, of Lapeer in Michigan's Thumb region, quit the House after he admitted sending an "outlandish" phony email to GOP activists and others in May of 2015, claiming he was caught with a male prostitute. The email was intended to make his extramarital affair with the Gamrat appear less believable if it were exposed by an anonymous blackmailer whom Courser said was demanding his resignation.

Courser and Gamrat both ran in, and lost, special elections to fill their own seat.

© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.