Michigan State Representative, Larry Inman, charged with attempting to trade his vote for money, lying to the FBI

The text message, which would have offered the vote of a legislator in exchange for a sum of money, ended with a famous phrase of five words: "We never had this discussion".

But a federal grand jury accused a Michigan Republican of doing just that, accusing state representative Larry Inman of an attempt to extort, bribe and lie to an FBI agent. He could face a total of 35 years in prison.

The indictment, made public on Wednesday, made bipartite calls for Inman's resignation – demands that he had so far resisted forcefully, claiming his innocence and setting up a potential intraparty confrontation in the GOP-controlled Midwestern legislature.

Inman reportedly used SMS to solicit funds from the Michigan Regional Carpenters and Carpenters Council, a union that had already contributed to his campaign, the US Attorney's Office said in the Western Michigan District.

The court records show that he sent the messages in June, just days before legislators considered repealing a 1965 law that guaranteed higher wages and better benefits to workers of state construction projects. He would have offered to vote "no" to the repeal action, which had been initiated by his own party – but said he would only do it for the right price.

"We will have a ton of pressure on this vote," Inman told a union representative, encouraging him to increase his contributions. "It's not worth losing assignments and staff for $ 5,000 … My suggestion is that you have to make sure that people are at their best.

The lawmaker of northern Michigan referred to a group of 12 lawmakers who might also consider blocking the repeal if their campaign war chests suddenly saw an injection of money from work. But only $ 5,000, he said, would not reduce it.

"I'm not sure you can keep 12 people for the only $ 5,000 help. … People are not going to go down for $ 5,000, we do not like it, "reads the message.

It is unclear whether the union officials responded to Inman's messages, but the court records indicate that they made no further contributions to the campaign after receiving his texts. When an FBI agent questioned Inman about these exchanges, he would have denied that they happened.

Inman finally voted in favor of repealing the law, which was passed in the House by only three votes.

In a statement made by his lawyer to the Washington Post, Inman said he "was innocent of these charges."

"I have never compromised the integrity of my vote on any issue," he said. "I have always represented my riding honestly and legally. I have the intention to defend myself vigorously against these accusations and against my reputation. "

House Speaker Lee Chatfield (right) told reporters Wednesday that he had asked Inman to resign shortly after the announcement of the charges, adding that the legislator's third term had already been removed from his position on the committee. Chatfield said that Inman had told him that he would take her "to study".

However, Christopher Cooke, Inman's lawyer, told The Post that his client "does not even consider resignation". He asked elected officials and the public to "reserve his judgment with respect to Larry" until more facts were revealed.

The Chatfield spokesman said the speaker was planning "to have a longer conversation" with Inman. If Inman refuses to resign, his peers can initiate proceedings to expel him, which has only happened four times in the state's history.

The carpenters' union did not respond to the newspaper's request, but its executive secretary-treasurer, Mike Jackson, told the Detroit News that his members were "delighted that Larry Inman would be brought to justice."

The president of the Democratic Party said in a statement that the charges were "incredibly disappointing and disturbing".

"Not only is Inman accused of violating the confidence of his constituents, the oath of his office and the law, but his actions, if true, show a deeply troubling pattern of Republican disdain for the workers of our state. Lavorna said. Barnes. "The citizens of Michigan deserve representatives who give priority to the people of our state and do not abuse the trust of the public or the power of their position."

Some state democrats encouraged Chatfield to open an investigation into the rest of the 12 lawmakers mentioned by Inman in his text messages.

"Will Chatfield investigate or lead a cover-up?" Asked Michigan Democrat Mark Brewer. in a tweet which refers to "the other #DirtyDozen."

Chatfield, in response to questions about the potential involvement of other lawmakers, said that Inman's conduct was "completely irrelevant and does not fit with the spirit of what the citizens of this state deserve in terms of representation, and I think everyone here is aware of that. "

He also stated that the charges had no impact on the results of the vote to annul the Wages Act, which he said was "based on merit".

Others have taken the alleged crimes for more examples of the type of behavior that is allowed to flourish in a state with restrictive laws regarding public registries and lenient lobbying rules.

"Today's indictment is further evidence of the need to strengthen transparency and lobby reform in Michigan," said Lonnie Scott, executive director of the Liberal Progress Michigan group, in a statement.

Other potential examples are not hard to find. Susan J. Demas, editor of the Michigan Advance non-profit information site, has listed other lawmakers in the grip of scandal. In the past five years alone, four have resigned under pressure and one has been deported.

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