Courser faces three counts of misconduct, with a possible maximum of five years in prison along with an additional felony count of perjury for allegedly lying to a state agency, with that carrying a potential 15-year sentence.
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“I didn’t intentionally deceive anyone”, Courser told reporters at Lansing’s District Court after he was formally charged by Judge Hugh B. Clarke.
Gamrat’s attorney, Mike Nichols, on Tuesday accused Schuette of bringing “this thing back from the dead”.
Gamrat, who’s from Allegan County, was expelled by the House in September, while Courser of Lapeer County resigned.
The arrest warrant for Courser states the former Lapeer representative lied about having his staff copy his signature on proposed House bills, leading to the perjury charge.
Schuette, a Republican, said in a statement that “it is our duty to pursue justice, no matter who is involved”.
After the scandal broke in August, the freshmen Republican House members asked to be censured.
“Todd Courser will continue to defend himself against these baseless and unconstitutional charges”, said Matt DePerno, a Portage attorney representing Courser said Saturday.
He said: “Attorney General Schuette filed baseless criminal charges against Todd Courser that are political in nature and have come at a time to take heat off the misconduct of others”.
Following the arraignments, Courser spoke with media in the lobby of the courthouse building, which also houses Lansing City Hall.
The pair were caught up in a sex scandal and freaky cover-up in which Courser admitted sending out an anonymous e-mail in which he claimed he was a sexual deviant addicted to porn who paid for sex with men outside of bars in Lansing.
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The Michigan State Police alleged that Joe Gamrat and a friend and co-worker sent text messages threatening to expose the affair.
