1 day ago
New Freddie Mac contract prohibits 'lobbying activities'
(CNN) - Newt Gingrich was specifically prevented from lobbying Congress on behalf of the mortgage giant Freddie Mac in 1999 and the early 2000s, according to a contract released Tuesday by the firm he founded.
The contract, which covered services rendered by the Gingrich Group from May 1, 1999 through December 31, 2000, states specifically: "Nothing herein is or shall be construed as an agreement to provide lobbying services of any kind or engage in lobbying activities."
The document continues, "Newt Gingrich and Group do not provide lobbying services of any kind and do not engage in lobbying activities. Neither The Gingrich Group nor Newt Gingrich will provide lobbying services of any kind nor participate in lobbying activities of Freddie Mac's behalf."
The document continues, "Newt Gingrich and Group do not provide lobbying services of any kind and do not engage in lobbying activities. Neither The Gingrich Group nor Newt Gingrich will provide lobbying services of any kind nor participate in lobbying activities of Freddie Mac's behalf."
The release of the contract comes one day after the Gingrich Group released a separate contract with Freddie Mac, covering work beginning in 2006. That document did not contain the explicit no-lobbying provisions, stating only that Gingrich's firm was contracted to "provide consulting and related services" to Freddie Mac.
The 1999-2000 document offered more specifics about Gingrich's services. Among the firm's duties were serving as "advisor to Freddie Mac in areas of strategic planning and public policy," "meeting with major stakeholders of Freddie Mac to discuss business and public policy issues," and engaging "in discussions with Mitchell Delk and other senior officers of Freddie Mac."
Mitchell Delk was Freddie Mac's senior vice president for government relations, according to the contract.
Gingrich's firm provided consulting services to Freddie Mac for roughly six years in total, approximately half of which are covered by the two released contracts. On Monday, the Gingrich Group said they couldn't locate the contracts from other years, but told CNN on Tuesday evening the latest release was found in the company's warehouse.
Both the contract released Monday and the document released Tuesday show the Gingrich Group earned $25,000 per month for its services to Freddie Mac.
The role Gingrich played at Freddie Mac has become a sticking point for the candidate on the campaign trail. Rival GOP hopefuls are reissuing their claims the former House speaker lobbied for Freddie Mac as the campaign moves to Florida, site of the next primary showdown. Florida was hit particularly hard by the national housing crisis, which many Republicans pin on the failure of the mortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.
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