he probably didn’t need an annulment.
He divorced his first wife (a valid sacramental marriage if they were both baptised Christians) and married again (a “natural” marriage but not a sacrament).
After that marriage, his first wife died.
The “natural” marriage would not be a sacrament and could be ended by divorce. It’s the “Pauline privelege” that if a spouse doesn’t want to stay with a person who converts, they can separate, according to Paul.
Ergo, to convert, he would have to prove all these things before they baptised him and “blessed” his third marriage.
The Kennedys get their annulments by cheating on their wives from the beginning of their marriage, proving that they had no intention of entering a true sacramental marriage, which requires fidelity. Unfortunatly, it’s a “Catch 22” for their innocent spouses.
I dislike Gingrich. I think he is shallow, but an excellent teacher. When I hear him talk, I am reminded of the part in a Man for All Seasons where Thomas More advises an ambitious young man to be a teacher and not go into politics, because he will be corrupted.
A lot of nuance there. I wonder what God thinks.