FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
News from Progress Michigan
October 6, 2015
Contact: Sam Inglot, 616-916-0574, sam@progressmichigan.org
Whistleblower Lawsuit Raises Further Questions About Cotter’s Leadership
Allegations lead to more questions about what Speaker Cotter knew and when he knew it
LANSING — Progress Michigan released the following statement after staff members fired by Todd Courser and Cindy Gamrat raised new allegations in a lawsuit. In the lawsuit, Keith Allard and Ben Graham allege that they informed “House management staff” about wrongdoing by Reps. Courser and Gamrat prior to being fired.
“From the beginning, Speaker Cotter has resisted calls to disclose what he knew and when he knew it. As the investigation continues, it seems more and more likely that Speaker Cotter and/or his staff knew of problems happening in the offices of Courser and Gamrat,” said Lonnie Scott, executive director of Progress Michigan. “This suit is just one more example of those involved telling a different story than Speaker Cotter.”
The allegations in this lawsuit are further proof that the calls for an independent investigation are warranted. Attorney General Bill Schuette and the Michigan State Police are in the process of investigating the entire Courser/Gamrat scandal, yet the full scope of the investigation is not yet known.
“The independent investigation will only be complete if the scope includes the conduct of Speaker Cotter and answers the question of what he knew and when he knew it,” Scott continued. “Now that Bill Schuette is done writing his book, maybe he can get back to issues that matter to the taxpayers who elected him and finish this investigation.”
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