Romney: Gingrich didn’t earn millions as historian

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney says Newt Gingrich’s freshly released contract with mortgage giant Freddie Mac shows that he was not merely a historian as he first suggested.

Romney is charging during Monday night’s GOP debate that the former House speaker made millions as an “influence peddler.”

Romney says that companies don’t spend that much money for history lessons and that Gingrich’s time since leaving office has been spent trading on his connections. Gingrich is adamant that he never lobbied.

Gingrich says that his consulting firms made that money, not him personally. He says his annual share was only about $35,000 and that the accusations he lobbied are defamatory and false.