It was probably a retainer that required him to consult whenever they asked. The fact that Freddie and Fanny paid him too much is certainly not the fault of Gingrich. Freddie and Fanny were loose with the money. I only wish they wanted my advice when they were throwing money around like water.
I knew somebody who worked for a non-profit that hired consultants practically on a daily basis, spending insane amounts of money...and never doing a thing that the consultants recommended because that simply “wasn’t the way they did things.”
I don’t know what the point of the whole show was, but it was certainly nice for the consultants!