“I am currently choosing to refrain from voting on House Resolutions 139 and 141 expelling Representative Todd Courser from the 82nd House District and Cindy Gamrat from the 80th House District of the Michigan House of Representatives. I’m gravely concerned this process is severely flawed.
“The House Select Committee to Examine the Qualifications of Representatives Cindy Gamrat and Todd Courser has not done its due diligence. It has struck key testimony from Speaker Kevin Cotter’s office concerning the allegations from the official record and refused to call on key witnesses to testify in front of the body as to what they experienced while in Rep. Courser and Gamrat’s office. These whistleblowers were absolutely integral to the investigation, and this committee may have never happened without them coming forward. They know more about the events that occurred than anyone but the representatives, and we never heard their testimony under oath. Both staffers were fired and were not protected after coming forward. Additionally, the investigation was managed with a significant lack of transparency and accountability. The 833-page investigation report wasn’t even made public until this previous Tuesday evening. The investigation was not referred to the Michigan Attorney General’s Office nor the Michigan Secretary of State’s Office. There were no criminal convictions, let alone charges.
“We were told this would be a fair and bipartisan process. That certainly was not the case given the events of this week. It is such a significant and historic event to vote to expel legislators from our chamber. Quite simply, there is not sufficient information until that body finishes its work. I take each and every vote very seriously, and this one is no different, especially considering we will be removing members from this body. My hope is the select committee will continue its work and determine what specific parties knew and when they were involved.”