Newt Gingrich not technically a lobbyist, but...

AP Photo/Cheryl Senter

As Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich has climbed to the top of the polls, the former House speaker has repeatedly stated that the money he earned doing business with the health care industry and controversial clients like Freddie Mac never came from lobbying.

But an in-depth look at Gingrich's business practices from the New York Times illustrates how Washington insiders can use their clout to exert influence on behalf of corporate interests, even if they're not officially a "lobbyist."

The Times takes a close look at Gingrich's work as a health care consultant for the company he founded, the Center for Health Transformation. Health care firms paid as much as $200,000 a year to join the group, the Times reports, in order to gain access to Gingrich. The former politician arranged meetings between executives and lawmakers, and sometimes promoted the companies he did business with in presentations to lawmakers.

In one example, the center sponsored a "health transformation summit" in Florida in 2006, in which state lawmakers heard about the services of two dozen of Gingrich's clients.

The Times reports that Gingrich went to great lengths to clarify that he never served as a lobbyist. For instance, a 2001 contract with a plastics company said Gingrich "does not provide lobbying services of any kind" -- a phrase that the Times reports became a standard part of his contracts.

Gingrich's campaign says that Gingrich never promoted an idea simply to help a client -- he only promoted ideas he believed in. Furthermore, they say, his clients paid for access to him because of the strength of his ideas.

"You have somebody who knows what he believes in, he can effectively communicate it, and he's successful in doing it," said Gingrich spokesman R. C. Hammond told the Times.

After reports revealed Gingrich made nearly $2 million representing mortgage giant Freddie Mac -- a regular target of conservative attacks -- Gingrich told CBS News, "I did no lobbying and I am not going to defend any kind of bad business practices."

Though Gingrich may have never served as a registered lobbyist, he does seem to have served as a conduit for companies to have access to lawmakers. When Gingrich says he was never a lobbyist, he's using a narrow definition of the term.

Asked by the Washington Post what constitutes lobbying, Gingrich's longtime attorney Randy Evans said, "Anything that looks like, smells like, walks like an attempt to influence legislation on behalf of a client for money."

The federal Lobbying Disclosure Act defines "lobbying activity" as "any efforts in support of such contacts, including preparation or planning activities, research and other background work that is intended, at the time of its preparation, for use in contacts and coordination with the lobbying activities of others."

An individual must register as a lobbyist if they spend more than 20 percent of their time on "lobbying activity."

Corporate influence peddling is pervasive in Washington, and Gingrich certainly isn't the only politician to come under scrutiny for his business ties. President Obama took some heat last month after the Times reported that at least 15 of Mr. Obama's major donors, who have raised more than $5 million so far for the president's re-election campaign, work in the lobbying industry, though they are not technically registered lobbyists. The ties don't break any rules but would seem to break Mr. Obama's own personal standards to keep lobbyists out of his campaign.

Many former congressmen haven't been as concerned about working as lobbying as Gingrich has been -- perhaps because they didn't share his presidential ambitions. According to the watchdog group Public Citizen, between 1998 and 2006, 43 percent of all members of Congress took lobbying jobs after leaving Congress, landing positions with an average annual salary of $2 million.

[Charlo8]

I can't wait for Newt Gingrich to release a new book on:

"How To Lie Using Fuzzy Math and Statistics" which of course would be researched and mostly written by the American Heritage Institute which is the center of organized smut, smear, propaganda, and back stabbing in the greater United States including Milwaukee. The Great Generation holds on dearly to their Bible and also to their delusioned obsessive-compulsive political candidates in the GOP.

[RandyC0609]

y 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.

[RandyC0609]

Newt Gingrich: Serial Hypocrisy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWKTOCP45zY&feature=youtu.be

[RantAskew]

I love how taxpayer millions helped to pay off his mistress(wife's) Tiffany's account. Romney is right! Gingrich is a corrupt career politician with no head for the economy.

[Ericwvb]

Newt's not a lobbyist, he just charges the world's highest rates for history lessons. I don't think of him as a lobbyist either, but rather as a slimy, lying, cheating, corrupt gasbag.

[karek40]

You can be sure of this, if Newt is the GOP candidate, he will not stumble like so many others running have, he is the smartest most knowledgeable man in the race.

[focusonjobs1]

And I'm smart enough to know he is a lobbyist. I hope that this will cause someone to challenge the legality of him not registering as a lobbyist.

[TeaParty4RonPaul]

Newt Gingrich's Skeleton Closet

http://www.realchange.org/gingrich.htm

[mjlewis6]

I would LOVE a NEWT explanation as to how his role is different from a lobbyist in front of an FBI agent and a Justice Dept attorney.

Martha Stewart had a difficult time of explaining her
sale of stock in front of an FBI agent..so surely Newt
could pass the definition test without telling a lie.

LOL

[MTATL67]

OH, GIVE ME A BREAK - If you take money for influencing legislation one-way or another. You are a LOYBBIST.

[bilrobi1]

Oh. I made some typing errors. I apologize.