A Florida congressman's already ugly divorce has taken a bizarre turn after he said in court papers that he was never actually married to his wife of 24 years. 
 
 In documents filed last week in 9th Circuit Court in Orange County and made public Tuesday by his lawyers, Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Fla., accuses Lolita Grayson of having still been married to another man when they were wed in 1990. 
 
 Lolita Grayson filed for divorce in January, but Alan Grayson's filing last week seeks an annulment — arguing that there was never a legal marriage in the first place. 
 
 Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Fla., has often cited his two-decade-long interracial marriage in advocating for legalizaton of same-sex marriage and broader benefits for families. Tom Williams / CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images fi 
 
 Alan Grayson's lawyers, who didn't respond to requests for comment on Tuesday, backed up the accusation with Florida court records showing that Lolita Grayson sought and obtained a judgment dissolving her marriage to a man named Robert Carson in March 1994 — four years after she married Alan Grayson. 
 
 "Unbeknownst to Mr. Grayson, Lolita Grayson was still married to another man, and was not divorced or widowed," according to the congressman's filing, which accuses Lolita Grayson of having "represented herself as single in order to induce Mr. Grayson to marry her." 
 
 The filing says that because of the "bigamous" nature of their union, Alan Grayson should be awarded custody of their five children and Lolita Grayson should be ordered to pay him back for "all of the money and property she has received" during their "purported" marriage. 
 
 The divorce was already a public spectacle before the congressman — who has fiercely advocated for liberal policies on family issues and same-sex marriage, pointing to his own interracial marriage as a model of an unorthodox union — lodged these new accusations. 
 
 In March, Lolita Grayson accused the congressman of assault for allegedly pushing her to the ground during a confrontation. Alan Grayson then released cellphone video appearing to show that it was, in fact, his wife who pushed him. The sheriff's office declined to pursue charges. 
 
 The congressman is also seeking legal fees from Lolita Grayson in connection with that incident, accusing her of defamation and slander. ||||| Rep. Alan Grayson claims his wife was already married to another man when they wed and is seeking an annulment on the basis of bigamy. (Video by FOX35) 
 
 When U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson married his wife, she was already wedded to another man, according to a new court filing by the congressman's lawyers, seeking an annulment on the basis of bigamy. 
 
 Grayson, D-Orlando, also accuses Lolita Grayson of defamation, for accusing him of battering her at their home in March, according paperwork filed in their divorce last week, days before their 24th anniversary. 
 
 Alan Grayson's new filing, a counterpetition to Lolita Grayson's January divorce filing, states that when he met Lolita Grayson in 1985, she "represented herself as single in order to induce Mr. Grayson to marry her." 
 
 The paperwork refers to the couple's union as a "bigamous marriage." In her application for their marriage license, Lolita Grayson claimed she had been divorced since 1981, her husband says. 
 
 "Unbeknownst to Mr. Grayson," the filing adds, "Ms. Grayson was married and remained married to another man ... up to and after the parties conducted an apparent marriage ceremony on April 28, 1990." 
 
 Several years later, Lolita Grayson "secretly participated" in a divorce from her prior husband, a man named Robert Carson, in Broward County, the documents state. 
 
 Attached to the congressman's counterpetition was a final divorce judgment dated March 7, 1994. It lists Lolita Carson as the respondent, and Robert Carson as the petitioner. 
 
 A woman who answered the phone at the law office of Mercedes Wechsler, Lolita Grayson's attorney, on Tuesday would not comment "at this time." 
 
 Alan Grayson's divorce lawyer, Richard West, said in an interview Tuesday that he discovered the marriage overlap when the paperwork surfaced in a background check. 
 
 "It's not common," West said. "I've been doing this kind of work almost 35 years, and this is only the third time it has come up." 
 
 The congressman's filing asks Circuit Judge Bob LeBlanc for an annulment, a court order declaring their marriage invalid. 
 
 Alan Grayson also asks the judge to order Lolita Grayson to "make an accounting of all of the money and property she has received" and establish a trust, "providing for their return to Mr. Grayson." 
 
 The new court filing also accuses Lolita Grayson of defamation, libel, slander and abuse of process, stemming from a March 1 confrontation at their home near Windermere. 
 
 Lolita Grayson filed a petition for a restraining order after the incident, alleging Alan Grayson "deliberately and with force pushed" her against a door, "causing [her] to fall to the ground." 
 
 However, Alan Grayson's attorneys later released video which they said contradicted Lolita Grayson's allegations. She has since dropped her petition, and the Orange County Sheriff's Office decided against making an arrest. 
 
 "Mr. Grayson has suffered, and will continue to suffer, harm proximately caused by Ms. Grayson's ... conduct, including but not limited to mental anguish and harm to reputation," the new filing says. 
 
 West said he had already confronted Lolita Grayson and her lawyers about the bigamy issue during divorce negotiations, before the domestic incident. 
 
 "Now we know why she acted in such a vengeful and spiteful way," he said. 
 
 Alan Grayson is suing for damages in excess of $15,000 on several counts alleged in his counterpetition, as well as punitive damages for defamation. 
 
 Lolita Grayson filed for divorce in January, saying their marriage "is irretrievably broken." She sought joint but primary custody of their four minor children, as well as their marital home, alimony and child support. 
 
 Alan Grayson is seeking parental responsibility for the children and the exclusive use of the family's home, their seven cars — including a 1981 DeLorean — and attorneys' fees. 
 
 In a separate motion, Grayson asked to be allowed to return to the family's home to collect an array of property, ranging from personal financial documents to a marble table, a king-sized bed and a piano. 
 
 Alan Grayson, often described as a liberal firebrand, represents Florida's 9th Congressional District, covering much of eastern Orange County, Osceola County and a sliver of Polk. He is seeking re-election this year. 
 
 Susan MacManus, a University of South Florida political scientist, said voters' views of Grayson are likely already polarized, lessening the impact of his increasingly bitter divorce. 
 
 Grayson's aggressive approach to the divorce comes as no surprise, she said: "The all-out attack is very consistent with his reputation. ... He has a reputation for pulling out all the stops and going for broke." 
 
 jeweiner@tribune.com or 407-420-5171
– US Rep. Alan Grayson's messy split from his wife of 24 years has become even messier: The Florida Democrat now says Lolita Grayson is a bigamist who was still married to another man when they married in 1990 and for years afterward, NBC reports. When Grayson first met her, she "represented herself as single in order to induce Mr. Grayson to marry her," according to court papers filed last week, which include documents showing that Lolita Grayson filed for divorce from the other man in 1994. The filing also accuses Lolita Grayson of defamation, libel, and slander over an incident last month in which she accused Grayson of domestic violence, only to drop the complaint a week later. Grayson, known as a liberal firebrand, is up for re-election this year and a University of South Florida political scientist says that voters are already so polarized that the bitter divorce is unlikely to have much effect on the race. "The all-out attack is very consistent with his reputation," she tells the Orlando Sentinel. "He has a reputation for pulling out all the stops and going for broke."