New Information About the Newt Gingrich/Freddie Mac Relationship (Updated: Freddie Mac Says Gingrich Did No Lobbying)

Multiple sources are reporting that Newt Gingrich received up to $1,800,000 in compensation from Freddie Mac–the government mortgage giant that many conservatives blame for causing the housing collapse along with Fannie Mae. This is much more than the $300,000 amount that was mentioned  during the CNBC Debate. Newt has maintained that his role for Freddie Mac was one of a consultant, not a lobbyist. That is going to be a tough sell, as sources within the government entity are contradicting Newt’s story.

Read more about this here and here.

Update: Mitchell Delk, Freddie Mac’s chief lobbyist at the time, has said that Newt did not lobby on behalf of the government entity: “What he did was provide counsel on public policy issues…There was no expectation that he would do any lobbying, and he did not do any lobbying.”