Politics

Gingrich blames affair on stress in congress

Will Rahn Senior Editor
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Former Speaker of the House and likely GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich is blaming his extramarital infidelities on stress related to his time in congress.

“There’s no question at times of my life, partially driven by how passionately I felt about this country, that I worked far too hard and things happened in my life that were not appropriate,” Gingrich told CBN’s David Brody in an interview released on Wednesday. “And what I can tell you is that when I did things that were wrong, I wasn’t trapped in situation ethics, I was doing things that were wrong, and yet, I was doing them.”

Gingrich went on to say that he “felt compelled to seek God’s forgiveness” because of his affair but is now “truly enjoying the depths of my life in ways that I never dreamed it was possible.”

As Speaker of the House, Gingrich lead the charge to impeach President Bill Clinton over the Monica Lewinsky affair. He has admitted to cheating on second wife during the proceedings with his current wife Callista Gingrich.

“There are times that I have fallen short of my own standards,” Gingrich told Focus on the Family founder James Dobson in 2007 when asked about the affair. “There’s certainly times when I’ve fallen short of God’s standards.”