LANSING, Mich. » Two former Michigan lawmakers were charged today with felony misconduct in office after their extramarital affair resulted in the expulsion of one and resignation of the other, the state attorney general announced.

Republican Attorney General Bill Schuette said former Republican state Rep. Todd Courser faces three counts of misconduct in office, a felony that is punishable by up to 5 years in prison. Schuette said Courser also was charged with perjury for lying to lawmakers under oath, a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Former Republican Rep. Cindy Gamrat faces two charges of misconduct.

“It’s called trust. It’s called judgment. It’s called honesty,” Schuette said at a news conference. “But Representatives Courser and Gamrat, sadly, failed to serve their constituents in an honorable fashion … worse yet … they broke the law.”

The charges were filed today in Ingham County District Court.

The investigation began late last summer. According to Schuette’s office, the two freshman lawmakers and self-proclaimed social conservatives engaged “in a pattern of corrupt misconduct while holding office.”

Their affair developed into a political scandal after Courser attempted to distract attention with a bizarre self-smear email sent to GOP activists stating that he’d been caught with a male prostitute “behind a prominent Lansing nightclub.”

Courser resigned before he could be expelled from office. Gamrat was expelled.