History Of Gingrich Ethics Violations

[WillowTree]

I'm trying to find out how sinful Gingrich was back then..


House Reprimands, Penalizes Speaker




Washingtonpost.com: House Reprimands, Penalizes Speaker

 

[WillowTree]

The heart of the ethics committee case against House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) involves his use of charitable organizations to subsidize his partisan political activities -- a practice he suggests he could have avoided had he consulted a lawyer and not been so "naive" about the intricacies of the tax code.




Washingtonpost.com: Use of Tax-Exempt Groups Integral to Political Strategy

 

[JakeStarkey]

I'm trying to find out how sinful Gingrich was back then..


House Reprimands, Penalizes Speaker Washingtonpost.com: House Reprimands, Penalizes Speaker

From the link.

House Reprimands, Penalizes Speaker

By John E. Yang
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 22 1997; Page A01

The House voted overwhelmingly yesterday to reprimand House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) and order him to pay an unprecedented $300,000 penalty, the first time in the House's 208-year history it has disciplined a speaker for ethical wrongdoing.

The ethics case and its resolution leave Gingrich with little leeway for future personal controversies, House Republicans said. Exactly one month before yesterday's vote, Gingrich admitted that he brought discredit to the House and broke its rules by failing to ensure that financing for two projects would not violate federal tax law and by giving the House ethics committee false information.

"Newt has done some things that have embarrassed House Republicans and embarrassed the House," said Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R-Mich.). "If [the voters] see more of that, they will question our judgment."

House Democrats are likely to continue to press other ethics charges against Gingrich and the Internal Revenue Service is looking into matters related to the case that came to an end yesterday.

The 395 to 28 vote closes a tumultuous chapter that began Sept. 7, 1994, when former representative Ben Jones (D-Ga.), then running against Gingrich, filed an ethics complaint against the then-GOP whip

 

[WillowTree]

Eighty-four ethics charges were filed against Gingrich during his term as speaker, all by Democrats.[65] Eighty-three of the charges were later dropped.[65] After extensive investigation and negotiation by the House Ethics Committee, Gingrich was reprimanded and penalized $300,000 by a 395–28 House vote. It was the first time in the history of the House that a speaker was disciplined for an ethics violation.[66]







Newt Gingrich - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Amelia]

February 4, 1999: Washingtonpost.com: IRS Clears Foundation That Aided Gingrich Course

I.R.S. Clears Foundation Linked to Gingrich's Ethics Dispute - NYTimes.com​

 

[Missourian]

The ethics violation? Not much to see.

Here is the description of the course that Dr. Gingrich, PhD, taught that was the basis for the ethics violation.

Renewing American Civilization | The Long March Of Newt Gingrich | FRONTLINE | PBS​

And here is NPR story on the violation.

Revisiting Newt Gingrich's 1997 Ethics Investigation : NPR​

Newt taught a college course, and allowed his political ideology to creep into the curriculum...good grief.

 

[WillowTree]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ki_gL3209OY&feature=related]Gingrich's record as Speaker - YouTube[/ame]

 

[WillowTree]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c95iAqOn2mY&feature=related]dreamies® Dishonor On The House - YouTube[/ame]

 

[WillowTree]

so far he looks like an angel compared to demoncraps.

 

[California Girl]

Great line in that clip, WillyT. Some of his colleagues 'question whether he has the temperament and judgement to sit in that chair". Me too.

 

[WillowTree]

Are they going to fire Valarie Jarrett for politicking from the pulpit?

 

[WillowTree]

Great line in that clip, WillyT. Some of his colleagues 'question whether he has the temperament and judgement to sit in that chair". Me too.

well that's your right. I have the same trepidations about milk toast romney.

 

[California Girl]

Great line in that clip, WillyT. Some of his colleagues 'question whether he has the temperament and judgement to sit in that chair". Me too.

well that's your right. I have the same trepidations about milk toast romney.

Personally, I think the priority right now has to be getting Americans back to work. The rest will follow if we can get that happening. And, without question, Romney is the most experienced to do that.

 

[edthecynic]

Eighty-four ethics charges were filed against Gingrich during his term as speaker, all by Democrats.[65] Eighty-three of the charges were later dropped.[65] After extensive investigation and negotiation by the House Ethics Committee, Gingrich was reprimanded and penalized $300,000 by a 395–28 House vote. It was the first time in the history of the House that a speaker was disciplined for an ethics violation.[66]
Newt Gingrich - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Why didn't you point out that it was the GOP who dropped the 83 charges when you made sure that you pointed out that the charges were brought by Dems, hack?

 

[Jackson]

Great line in that clip, WillyT. Some of his colleagues 'question whether he has the temperament and judgement to sit in that chair". Me too.

well that's your right. I have the same trepidations about milk toast romney.

Personally, I think the priority right now has to be getting Americans back to work. The rest will follow if we can get that happening. And, without question, Romney is the most experienced to do that.

As president, how would he do that? What history does he have of getting two sides of Congress to work together?

 

[Jackson]

Eighty-four ethics charges were filed against Gingrich during his term as speaker, all by Democrats.[65] Eighty-three of the charges were later dropped.[65] After extensive investigation and negotiation by the House Ethics Committee, Gingrich was reprimanded and penalized $300,000 by a 395–28 House vote. It was the first time in the history of the House that a speaker was disciplined for an ethics violation.[66]
Newt Gingrich - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Why didn't you point out that it was the GOP who dropped the 83 charges when you made sure that you pointed out that the charges were brought by Dems, hack?

The committe is not made up of one party, is it?

 

[WillowTree]

Great line in that clip, WillyT. Some of his colleagues 'question whether he has the temperament and judgement to sit in that chair". Me too.

well that's your right. I have the same trepidations about milk toast romney.

Personally, I think the priority right now has to be getting Americans back to work. The rest will follow if we can get that happening. And, without question, Romney is the most experienced to do that.

I don't have a quarrel with romney's business experience. I doubt he has the grit and determination that it will take to beat obummer's dirty machine.

 

[California Girl]

well that's your right. I have the same trepidations about milk toast romney.

Personally, I think the priority right now has to be getting Americans back to work. The rest will follow if we can get that happening. And, without question, Romney is the most experienced to do that.

As president, how would he do that? What history does he have of getting two sides of Congress to work together?

He's a very smart business man. He understands how business works, what it needs from government, and how to provide that environment. And, he was Gov of a very 'liberal' state, so he's done the 'cross party' thing.

If we do not fix the economy, we can kiss goodbye to the rest of it. "It's the Economy, Stupid". And Romney is the best qualified of any GOP candidate to put business back into the economic driving seat.

 

[WillowTree]

Eighty-four ethics charges were filed against Gingrich during his term as speaker, all by Democrats.[65] Eighty-three of the charges were later dropped.[65] After extensive investigation and negotiation by the House Ethics Committee, Gingrich was reprimanded and penalized $300,000 by a 395–28 House vote. It was the first time in the history of the House that a speaker was disciplined for an ethics violation.[66]
Newt Gingrich - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Why didn't you point out that it was the GOP who dropped the 83 charges when you made sure that you pointed out that the charges were brought by Dems, hack?

I didn't "point" out anything asswipe. it's all contained within the body of the article I posted.

 

[edthecynic]

The ethics violation? Not much to see.

Here is the description of the course that Dr. Gingrich, PhD, taught that was the basis for the ethics violation.

Renewing American Civilization | The Long March Of Newt Gingrich | FRONTLINE | PBS​

And here is NPR story on the violation.

Revisiting Newt Gingrich's 1997 Ethics Investigation : NPR​

Newt taught a college course, and allowed his political ideology to creep into the curriculum...good grief.

Actually that was not his first attempt to use tax deductible "charities" to promote his political propaganda.

Washingtonpost.com: Use of Tax-Exempt Groups Integral to Political Strategy

[SIZE=-1] By Charles R. Babcock
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, January 7 1997; Page A01[/SIZE]
The heart of the ethics committee case against House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) involves his use of charitable organizations to subsidize his partisan political activities -- a practice he suggests he could have avoided had he consulted a lawyer and not been so "naive" about the intricacies of the tax code.
But over the years Gingrich and his top advisers have tried repeatedly to use tax-deductible donations to help promote their political goals, a review of his record shows. Indeed, the availability of groups that could take tax-deductible donations was integral to his ultimately successful plan to wrest control of the House from the Democrats.
"Gingrich has a long history of skirting the edge of tax-exempt law for political activity," said Ellen Miller, outgoing director of the Center for Responsive Politics, which produced a report on the subject in 1987.
Gingrich was in a position to know the dangers of mixing tax-deductible dollars and politics as long ago as the late 1980s, when the Internal Revenue Service took the unusual step of denying a tax exemption requested by the American Campaign Academy, a group formed by some Gingrich advisers to train political operatives. One of those who set up the academy, Joseph Gaylord, went on to become Gingrich's top political lieutenant in the period covered by the ethics charges.
In a 1989 ruling, a U.S. Tax Court judge upheld the IRS, saying that the academy was partisan because it served "the private interests of Republican party entities rather than public interests exclusively."
A House ethics subcommittee last month used similar language in finding that Gingrich failed to ensure that two charity-financed projects -- a college course he taught and a televised town hall meeting -- did not violate federal tax law. Groups accepting tax-deductible donations must be operated exclusively for exempt purposes, the panel said. Conferring a benefit on "private interests" -- the language used in the 1989 case -- is a non-exempt purpose, it added.
Asked if Gingrich was aware of the 1989 ruling, spokesman Tony Blankley said last week he could not comment because of the speaker's agreement with the ethics committee not to discuss his case publicly.