Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich on Thursday night defended the $1.6 million he earned from mortgage lender Freddie Mac, insisting he was never a lobbyist.
“I did no lobbying of any kind for any organization,” Gingrich said during the GOP presidential debate in Iowa. “And that was a key part of every agreement we had.”
But his rivals, like Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, still described his work that way.
“The fact that we know he cashed paychecks from Freddie Mac, that is the best evidence that you can have,” she said. “Over $1.6 million. And frankly, I am shocked listening to the former Speaker of the House because he is defending the continuing practice of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.”
Gingrich responded and said Bachmann was flat out wrong.
“My policy is to break up both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,” he said. “It’s not anything like what you just described. Second, I want to state unequivocally for every person watching tonight. I have never once changed my positions because of any kind of payment.”