TO: INTERESTED PARTIES
FROM: R.C. Hammond, Press Secretary
SUBJECT: Fact Sheet: Newt Gingrich Ethics Committee Investigation
In an Interview with Talking Points Memo today former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi implied she knows "a lot about him" [Newt Gingrich] that is currently not a matter of public record. How soon the Congresswoman forgets that 83 of the 84 politically motivate charges filed against Speaker Gingrich were dismissed. And furthermore, the IRS found that Newt did nothing wrong! As CNN's Bernard Shaw reported, "Always Good to Keep the Record Straight." We agree.
"Always Good To Keep The Record Straight" - Bernard Shaw reporting on the IRS clearing Gingrich on CNN in February of 1999
Fact Sheet on the Ethics Committee Investigation of Newt Gingrich and the Ensuing Decision by the IRS that Gingrich’s Activities Were Perfectly Legal
84 politically motivated ethics charges were filed against Newt when he was Speaker of the House regarding the use of tax exempt funds for a college course he taught titled “Renewing American Civilization.” 83 of the 84 were found to be without merit. The remaining charge had to do with contradictory documents prepared by Newt’s lawyer supplied during the course of the investigation. Newt took responsibility for the error and agreed to reimburse the committee the cost of the investigation into that discrepancy. The agreement specifically noted the payment was not a fine. In 1999, after a 3 ½ year investigation, the Internal Revenue Service (under President Bill Clinton, nonetheless) concluded that Gingrich did not violate any tax laws, leading renowned CNN Investigative Reporter Brooks Jackson to remark on air “it turns out [Gingrich] was right and those who accused him of tax fraud were wrong.”
Transcript of CNN Report below:
CNN INSIDE POLITICS 17:00 pm ET February 3, 1999
And up next: vindication at last? The Internal Revenue Service finally weighs in on the former speaker's college controversy. Our Brooks Jackson on the belated ruling affecting Newt Gingrich, when we return.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SHAW: Finally, we revisit former House speaker Newt Gingrich, of Georgia. The past several months have not been, to put it mildly, the high-point in his life or his career.
WOODRUFF: But today, after all the criticism of his tact and long-time questions about his ethics, Gingrich apparently can, on at least one point, say, I told you so.
Here's CNN's Brooks Jackson.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JACKSON (voice-over): It was legal after all. Newt Gingrich's oh-so-controversial college course that he started back in 1993, before he was speaker.
Remember how Democrats denounced it?
REP. DAVID BONIOR (D), MICHIGAN: Mr. Gingrich engaged in a pattern of tax fraud.
REP. JOHN LEWIS (D), GEORGIA: We now have a speaker under investigation for lying to the council, investigation his involvement in a massive tax-fraud scheme.
JACKSON: Tax fraud? Well, never mind. After a three-and-a-half year examination, the Internal Revenue Service -- Bill Clinton's IRS -- has issued an official finding: no violation of tax laws. Critics said the course, which was videotaped and widely distributed, was too political; a scheme to use a tax-exempt educational foundation to promote a Republican agenda and elect Republican candidates.
But in a 74-page memorandum, the IRS said otherwise, quote: "The taught principles from American civilization that could be used by each American in everyday life, whether the person is a welfare recipient, the head of a large corporation or a politician." It said: "The course was not biased toward particular politicians, or a particular party. The facts show the class was much more than a political platform."
There was no comment from Congressman Bonior, who had accused Gingrich of tax fraud, but there was comment from the president of the foundation that sponsored Gingrich's course.
JEFF EISENSACH, PROGRESS AND FREEDOM FOUNDATION: To be vindicated, as we have been by the ultimate authority, really, the Internal Revenue Service, is about as sweet as it gets.
JACKSON: Gingrich issued a statement: "I consider this a full and complete vindication. I urge my colleagues to go back and read their statements and them, with no fact, based on nothing more than a desire to politically destroy a colleague." But ruling comes too late to help much: Gingrich has resigned from Congress, and already paid a $300,000 fine to settle House Ethics Committee charges that he made misleading statements during an investigation of the college course.
(on camera): When he settled those charges, Gingrich also agreed he should have sought better legal advice about the course, but it turns out he was right, and those who accused him of tax fraud were wrong.
Brooks Jackson, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SHAW: Always good to keep the record straight.