Newt Gingrich may have been relatively quiet about the impending subprime mortgage crisis during his eight years working for Freddie Mac, but he sure started speaking up once it finally arrived. In 2008 he publicly demanded President Obama return all his donations from the mortgage giant.
In an interview with FOX News’ Sean Hannity on October 8, Gingrich advised Republican presidential nominee John McCain to challenge Obama over the money:
“I think Senator McCain should have turned and said, ‘Senator Obama, are you prepared to give back all the money that Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae gave to you? Are you prepared to fire your housing adviser, who was paid $90 million over six years while helping ruin Fannie Mae? Are you prepared to fire your adviser, who is the former head of Fannie Mae, Mr. Johnson? Are you prepared to dissociate yourself from Chris Dodd, who was the highest recipient of money from Fannie Mae?’ And who, by the way, as you know, was also getting a below-market loan from Countrywide before they went broke.”
This was one of a number of interviews in the same period in which Gingrich attacked Democrats for their ties to Freddie Mac. Gingrich reportedly received $1.6 million as a consultant with the company, cutting ties with the company only months before the housing crisis hit.
This naturally raises the question of whether Gingrich feels he should return some of his own cash. A spokesman for Gingrich did not immediately return a request for comment.
Benjy Sarlin
Benjy Sarlin is a reporter for Talking Points Memo and co-writes the campaign blog, TPM2012. He previously reported for The Daily Beast/Newsweek as their Washington Correspondent and covered local politics for the New York Sun.
Newt is a grifter of the highest order. Trust me, as a native Georgian, I can tell you all that this turd has never earned an honest buck in his life. I am pretty sure his Professorship is an honorary one. You know, the one he touts all the time? I may be wrong on that specific point, but there are TONS of Gingrich scams that are about to come to light. He is gonna be gone from the leaderboard in a few short weeks.
Let's see. Having an affair while impeaching Clinton. Taking money from Freddie Mac and then criticizing Obama for taking money from Freddie Mac. Newt's fall has begun.
ComradeAnon Let's not forget, going to visit the Pope, sneaking of with his girlfriend *that night*, then crawling into bed with his wife at 4am. h/t to David Corn for bringing that one to light.
sullivanstComradeAnon What an awesome excuse: "Honey, I'll be, um, late. ahh... very late. I'm with the Pope."
“I think Senator McCain should have turned and said, ‘Senator Obama, are you prepared to give back all the money that Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae gave to you?"
And Obama would have said "Are you?"
Two-faced liar and hypocrite - That's the nicest thing I can say about Newt.
What's Tiffany's refund policy?
AdAbsurdum What, is he giving his wife back already????
What a flaming fraud this guy is.
Raw Story http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/11/16/report-gingr...
"When Gingrich faced a question during a recent Republican debate about his 2006 contract with Freddie Mac, he claimed to have warned executives that their lending practices were “insane” and that they should stop before becoming insolvent.
Bank officials immediately disputed that, claiming that he was essentially an ambassador to House Republicans, to convince them that they shouldn’t seize and break up the bank.
Gingrich also previously claimed that Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) and former Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) should be jailed for participating in the financial reform laws that today require banks to hold more capital and less debt."
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