The resignation had to do with the loss of seats in Congress, not with alleged ethics violations 2 yrs previously. That’s why the resignation occured AFTER the election and not two years earlier. That’s according to Krauthammer who is not a Newt fan.
You are right, the ethics violations were not the issue, the lost seats were. Newt’s tenure was interesting in that he made some major changes and had the Congress in lock step initially, but the longer he served the more disenfranchised many of the Republican members were. Part were definitely RINO’s but part of the conservative class of 94 felt he had lost his way.
Now did we lose the seats because of Newt?