Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich Acknowledges Having Affair During Clinton Impeachment

Thursday, March 08, 2007

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich was having an extramarital affair even as he led the charge against President Clinton over the Monica Lewinsky affair, he acknowledged in an interview with a conservative Christian group.

"The honest answer is yes," Gingrich, a potential 2008 Republican presidential candidate, said in an interview with Focus on the Family founder James Dobson to be aired Friday, according to a transcript provided to The Associated Press. "There are times that I have fallen short of my own standards. There's certainly times when I've fallen short of God's standards."

Gingrich argued in the interview, however, that he should not be viewed as a hypocrite for pursuing Clinton's infidelity.

"The president of the United States got in trouble for committing a felony in front of a sitting federal judge," the former Georgia congressman said of Clinton's 1998 House impeachment on perjury and obstruction of justice charges. "I drew a line in my mind that said, 'Even though I run the risk of being deeply embarrassed, and even though at a purely personal level I am not rendering judgment on another human being, as a leader of the government trying to uphold the rule of law, I have no choice except to move forward and say that you cannot accept ... perjury in your highest officials."

Widely considered a mastermind of the Republican revolution that swept Congress in the 1994 elections, Gingrich remains wildly popular among many conservatives. He has repeatedly placed near the top of Republican presidential polls recently, even though he has not formed a campaign.

Gingrich has said he is waiting to see how the Republican field shapes up before deciding in the fall whether to run.

Reports of extramarital affairs have dogged him for years as a result of two messy divorces, but he has refused to discuss them publicly.

Gingrich, who frequently campaigned on family values issues, divorced his second wife, Marianne, in 2000 after his attorneys acknowledged Gingrich's relationship with his current wife, Callista Bisek, a former congressional aide more than 20 years younger than he is.

His first marriage, to his former high school geometry teacher, Jackie Battley, ended in divorce in 1981. Although Gingrich has said he doesn't remember it, Battley has said Gingrich discussed divorce terms with her while she was recuperating in the hospital from cancer surgery.

Gingrich married Marianne months after the divorce.

"There were times when I was praying and when I felt I was doing things that were wrong. But I was still doing them," he said in the interview. "I look back on those as periods of weakness and periods that I'm ... not proud of."

Gingrich's congressional career ended in 1998 when he abruptly resigned from Congress after poor showings from Republicans in elections and after being reprimanded by the House ethics panel over charges that he used tax-exempt funding to advance his political goals.

How much alcohol was in the woman who slept with him? That image is just disgusting.

How much alcohol was in the woman who slept with him? That image is just disgusting.

Not as disgutsting as having sex with Ted Kennedy I would imagine. But I bet it's right up there with that.

There are some women who will do it with a politician, no matter how repulsive they are, just to have that notoriety. You couldn't get me near Newt Gingrich or Ted Kennedy if you paid me.

^^^^ You got that right...You'd have to knock back at least ten drinks or more to even get to that route

Gingrich argued in the interview, however, that he should not be viewed as a hypocrite for pursuing Clinton's infidelity.

He might think he shouldn't but if the shoe fits. What a fool he is. He is as big of a hypocrite as they come!

He might think he shouldn't but if the shoe fits. What a fool he is. He is as big of a hypocrite as they come!

Well that's a Republican for ya! Democrats do it and it's wrong, Republicans do it and there is nothing wrong with it.

Perhaps you folks have forgotten, but Clinton was not impeached for having an affair. Instead, he was impeached because he committed perjury.

Claiming that Clinton got impeached because he had an affair is a BOLD FACED LIE.

Perhaps you folks have forgotten, but Clinton was not impeached for having an affair. Instead, he was impeached because he committed perjury.

Claiming that Clinton got impeached because he had an affair is a BOLD FACED LIE.

Well, I wouldn't go that far....but I would say however that the Republicans' hands were not clean in that investigation either.

Just goes to show you that the Republicans at that time were not all high and mighty like they thougth they were....

they were having affairs too....including the man at the top of the party.

What I find very funny in all this is the fact that it all boils down to Clinton lied about having sex.

Big deal...how many people lie about having sex everyday? How many people have affairs and try to cover it up?

Exactly........it happens all the time (as we have seen, even by the people who want to punish others for doing the exact same thing).

I'm not saying that cheating is right....because it is not, but it deals in comparison to some of the scandals the Republicans have been involved....

or have we forgotten about Watergate, Iran Contra, Mark Foley intern scandal, the Scooter Libby incident and all the others?

What I'm getting at is the Republicans better watch when they throw stones at the Democrats because "People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones."

I know the Democrats have been involved in their fair share of scandals as well.....but so have the Republicans. And it's high time they drop their holier than now attitutde.

I guess being a 'Conversative politican' means you can have an extra maratial affair these days.

Scotty, you're right that many people lie about having sex. However, you are missing the point:

It is not that Clinton merely lied about an affair, it is that he lied about it while under oath in a court of law, thereby committing a crime. (And having a sitting president commit a crime is a "big deal.") On the other hand, the vast majority of people who do lie about having affairs do not tell such lies when under oath.

Edited March 10, 200718 yr by Max

Scotty, you're right that many people lie about having sex. However, you are missing the point:

It is not that Clinton merely lied about an affair, it is that he lied about it while under oath in a court of law, thereby committing a crime. On the other hand, the vast majority of people who do lie about having affairs do not tell such lies when under oath.

I get your point, however a lot of people do lie about things under oath. If they didn't we wouldn't have lie detecter tests.

And no matter how you look at it....we live in a corrup society where sexual affairs are deemed moral and just by our society. For the most part, people lack the respect and ethics that they used to have. And by that I am referring to everyone, regardless of party.

Thanks for understanding my point of view, Scotty. And, I get your point, too. It is indeed reprehensible for Gingrich or any other Republican to have an affair while claiming to belong to the party of moral values.

Newt's a special being, which still leads me to wonder how on earth these women sleep with him and not want to recoil in horror. Then again, the situation with the first wife is no secret (married his high school teacher and filed for divorce while she was in treatment for cancer).

Thanks for understanding my point of view, Scotty. And, I get your point, too. It is indeed reprehensible for Gingrich or any other Republican to have an affair while claiming to belong to the party of moral values.

You're welcome. Thanks for seeing mine too.

And it is reprhensible for anyone to have an affair while claiming to be moral and just, but the Republicans especially.