Before any of this will make sense we have to clarify all of the connections, I'll use this graphic as it shows clearly that both Marlin Stutzman and Tracey Jackson (the woman who had the affair with Mark Stouder) both worked with then Rep. Stouder. What makes it important in talking about Marlin Stutzman is that he is good friends with Tracey Jackson's Husband.
Marlin Stutzman was Special Assistant to Rep. Mark Souder, District 3, 2005-2008
On June 6, 2010 a Facebook email from former Rep. Mark Souder was sent to Noble County prosecutor Steven Clouse and GOP county chairman Randy Kirkpatrick regarding Stutzman's campaign finance "problem", Souder's affair with staffer Tracy Jackson, and predictions on the Republican's caucus to replace Souder on the November ballot. The fourteen point message was eventually forwarded on to Republican leaders, journalist, and media outlets. Souder confirmed the authenticity of the message to The Journal Gazette by e-mail, but he declined to comment beyond saying it was intended to be a private message.
In the Facebook message, Souder touts Stutzman as the favorite in the caucus but also asserts that Stutzman possibly played a role in making Souder’s affair public. Tracy Jackson's husband, Brad, is mentioned throughout the message as having flown Stutzman, while he was a United States Senate candidate, to numerous campaign stops throughout the state without reporting it to the FEC.
Stutzman's only response to date regarding the unreported flights by Brad Jackson, "He (Souder) should be focusing on his family and his marriage right now. If he had concerns about our finances – which he shouldn’t – why didn’t he talk to me?”
Enter Mike PenceSouder's message seems to offer contradictory statements about the affair with an aide that led him to resign. In one paragraph, he says Stutzman knew nothing of the affair and therefore couldn't have tipped off the media. In another, he mentions that Stutzman or a political consulting firm leaked word of the affair to Fox News after getting information from the staffer's husband, Brad Jackson a Kosciusko County commissioner.
Pence told POLITICO that when he found out the affair involved a staffer, he immediately told Souder to resign.Pence also said that he informed the House ethics committee of Souder’s relationship with the staffer, who has been identified as Tracy Meadows Jackson.But Pence’s revelation raises new questions about when GOP leaders and top aides became aware of Souder’s affair. SOURCE
Allen County GOP Chairman Steve Shine said he had heard talk of an affair for about six months, and at least one of Souder's opponents reported receiving anonymous phone calls about the matter days before the May 4 primary. U.S. Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., confronted Souder about the rumors after being approached by a reporter, said Matt Lloyd, a spokesman for the House Republican Conference.Stutzman said he first heard talk several years ago about an inappropriate relationship between Souder and Tracy Jackson, a part-time staffer in Souder's Indiana district whose husband, Brad, is a pilot and flew Stutzman around on occasions during his Senate campaign. Stutzman worked years ago as a special assistant to Souder in the district. He said he and another staffer confronted the congressman, who called the allegations a "vicious rumor." SOURCE
