Posted on 01/24/2012 7:19:11 PM PST by TBBT
NAPLES, Fla. (AP) — GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich began receiving payments from Freddie Mac in 1999 under a contract that paid his consulting business $25,000 a month to work with the mortgage giant's chief lobbyist, according to a second agreement released Tuesday night. The contract specifically excluded lobbying services, stating "nothing herein is or shall be construed as an agreement to provide lobbying services of any kind or engage in lobbying activities." The Center for Health Transformation, founded by Gingrich, provided the second contract a day after releasing a 2006 agreement for Gingrich's services. The two contracts paid Gingrich's consulting business just over $1.6 million and required Gingrich to report to Freddie Mac's lobbying office. The 1999 contract was renewed through 2002, and the 2006 contract was renewed for one year in 2007, said Susan Meyers, a spokeswoman for the Center for Health Transformation. Gingrich's work with Freddie Mac has received renewed scrutiny as GOP rival Mitt Romney has criticized the arrangements as influence peddling by the former House speaker. Gingrich has blasted Romney, saying he has mischaracterized his work in a desperate attempt to regain momentum in the Republican presidential race. Romney has pressed Gingrich to release details of his work for Freddie Mac, including any work product or reports completed for the company that would show exactly what type of services he provided. Gingrich urged the consulting company he left last year to release the contracts, but no other materials have been released.
(Excerpt) Read more at canadianbusiness.com ...
/sarc
I hope we can get through this childish crap and get to the issues that will have to be taken to Obama’s face! The issues that are essential to saving America.
Let us get to the job at hand. Sink the USS Obama and get cracking!!!
So what? Man has to make a living.
“The contract specifically excluded lobbying services, stating “nothing herein is or shall be construed as an agreement to provide lobbying services of any kind or engage in lobbying activities.”
Why is no one yelling that Romney is attacking capitalism?
WHO
.
.
CARES !
The Center for Health Transformation is pro Individual Mandate for Healthcare.
Maine-iac7 has started a Newt ping list if anyone wants on it.
Heard this on FOX today. Sounded like they had discovered it.....Only thing remembered from the report was that it clearly stated Newt was NOT a lobbyist
The Center for Health Transformation also charged Big Insurers and Big Pharma big “membership fees,” for which they got access to Gingrich.
Why would these companies pay such big bucks for access to Gingrich?
Because they wanted his opinion?? That’s usually why companies and organizations pay consultants.
That does not at all mean that he wasn't being paid to peddle his influence on Capitol Hill. In fact, that's exactly what the Freddie Mac officers said the contract was about:
Former Freddie Mac officials familiar with the consulting work Gingrich was hired to perform for the company in 2006 tell a different story. They say the former House speaker was asked to build bridges to Capitol Hill Republicans and develop an argument on behalf of the company’s public-private structure that would resonate with conservatives seeking to dismantle it.
Remember when the Bush administration was trying to strengthen regulation of Fannie and Freddie, a move that just might have prevented the worst of the housing market crash? Yeah, Gingrich was at that time "building bridges" to Capitol Hill Republicans, trying to convince them NOT to dismantle the GSE's.
Thanks, Newt.
And thanks to conservatives for "not caring."
I'll vote for the man if he gets the nomination, but he's not the savior some are making him out to be.
Some people buy everything that the press spoon feeds them. I laugh everytime that I see that incorrect "Media Deathwatch" sign on FR. There are some that STILL suck up their bilge.
Bloomberg + No direct quotes + Unnamed sources = Butkus.
“Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn.” Clark Gable in Gone With The Wind. ;>)
I don’t care what they come up with at this point, I am committed to Newt and I will not waiver.
GO NEWT GO........
Gingrich now needs to tell Romney to get a life - back in the business world, where liars and crooks flourish.
Santorum on Fox and Friends 1/24/2012 “To say Newt was lobbying Freddie Mac is over the top. Newt was not technically a lobbyist and there is a big difference between when someone does consulting and when they lobby.”
Lobbyists have to register as lobbyists.
There are strict rules, which include the number of hours spent lobbying and the percentage of money spent.
Newt Gingrich was never a lobbyist.
Romney is desperate.
Repeating an untrue meme over again and again in this time of Internet, twitter etc doesn't get the results it did when some of his political advisers went to college.
Be sure to listen all the way to the part where Newt speaks about the release of Romney’s tax returns...it involves Fannie and Freddie!
Gingrich Threatens to Skip Debates if Audiences Can’t Participate
He's attacking Gingrich Group and making unfounded accusations and there's not a peep.
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