http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-24/gingrich-firm-releases-2006-freddie-mac-contract-as-rivals-raise-pressure.htmlNewt Gingrich’s consulting firm yesterday released a copy of its 2006 contract with Freddie Mac (FMCC), which covers just one year of his multiple years of service and documents only $300,000 of the $1.6 million he received from the mortgage company.
The Republican hopeful’s first contract -- spanning 1999 to 2002 and worth between $1 million and $1.2 million, according to two people familiar with the agreement -- wasn’t released because officials at the Center for Health Transformation can’t find it, said Susan Meyers, a center spokeswoman who works for the Gingrich campaign. The 2006 contract also applied to 2007, she said, meaning the total value of that contract was $600,000.
“We’re not even sure we signed anything for 2007,” said Meyers.
Gingrich and his allies have come under increasing pressure from chief rival Mitt Romney to release the records, and his association with Freddie Mac is emerging as major theme in the race. Many Republicans have criticized Freddie Mac because the company invested in risky mortgages and then needed billions of dollars in taxpayer money for a bailout after the housing market meltdown. Since September 2008, Freddie Mac and sister company Fannie Mae, both now operating under U.S. conservatorship, have cost a total of $153 billion in taxpayer aid.
“Why isn’t Speaker Gingrich disclosing the full extent of his relationship with Freddie Mac?” said Brian Jones, a spokesman for the Romney campaign. “Ultimately this disclosure raises more questions than it actually does answer.”
Debate Issue
Within the first few minutes of a candidates’ debate last night in Tampa, Florida, Romney accused
Gingrich of working for Freddie Mac’s lobbying shop and of “influence peddling.” Gingrich, 68, denies he lobbied on behalf of the company. The contract makes clear “I was supposed to do consulting work,” he said. “There is no place in the contract that provides for lobbying.”
Romney may also be vulnerable on the issue. His most recent financial-disclosure report, which he filed in August 2011, shows he had a financial interest in Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. (FNMA)
The disclosure said he held assets in both Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae valued at between $100,000 to $250,000. He received between $5,001 and $15,000 in interest income from his Freddie Mac assets and another $5,001 to $15,000 in interest income from his Fannie Mae assets. Financial-disclosure reports allow candidates to report assets in broad ranges
