Doral, Florida (CNN) - At a Latino forum Wednesday Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich talked about character and perceived hypocrisy related to his personal history.
Univision anchor Jorge Ramos asked the former House speaker about his role in the impeachment proceedings against President Bill Clinton in the late 1990s when he was engaged in an extra-marital affair.
CNN LIVE: Tune in Thursday at 8 p.m. ET for the CNN/Republican Party of Florida Debate hosted by Wolf Blitzer and follow it on Twitter at #CNNDebate. For real-time coverage of the Florida primary, go to CNNPolitics.com or to the CNN apps or CNN mobile web site.
Follow the Ticker on Twitter: @politicalticker
"People think that's hypocritical to criticize President Clinton for doing the same thing that you were doing at the same time," Ramos said to Gingrich at the forum sponsored by Univision Network, U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and Miami Dade College.
"I didn't do the same thing. I have never lied under oath. I have never committed perjury. I have never been involved in a felony. He was," the former speaker said, referring to the allegations of perjury involving the Paula Jones sexual harassment civil case and Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky.
Gingrich added, "The fact is I've been through two divorces. I have been deposed both times under oath. Both times I told the truth in the deposition because I know that it is – and I'm not a lawyer – I know it's a felony."
In a March 2007 interview with James Dobson of Focus on the Family, Gingrich talked openly about what he was going through personally when he was going after Clinton for his personal transgressions.
"And I drew a line in my mind and again, our listeners may not agree with me. But 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 felonies and you cannot accept perjury in your highest officials."
Further speculation about Gingrich's personal past was fueled last week when ABC News aired an interview with his ex-wife, Marianne, who alleged the former speaker proposed an open marriage. Gingrich has lambasted the media while staunchly denying the claim.
Ramos pressed, "Isn't that a fair question about your character?"
"Sure, and the answer is it's not true," Gingrich said. "Did I blame you for asking? No."
"The CNN commentator decided to make it the first question on a national presidential debate. And I thought to myself we got unemployment, we have immigration, we have Afghanistan, we have the price of energy, we have housing problems," Gingrich said. "And these guys think this kind of trash ought to be the first question of the national presidential debate? By the way the audience agreed with me entirely."
Also see:
Live blog: 2012 State of the Union
New Freddie Mac contract prohibits 'lobbying activities'
From CNN Politics
© 2011 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
| Advertising practices | Advertise with us | About us | Contact us | Work for us | Help
►Gingrich added, "The fact is I've been through two divorces. I have been deposed both times under oath. Both times I told the truth in the deposition because I know that it is – and I'm not a lawyer – I know it's a felony."◄
But ginGRINCH is most likely lying now when he says his ex-Wife is lying about him asking for an "open relationship." The point is that ginGRINCH pursued something that he himself was guilty of. And I guarantee you, he mostly likely LIED back then when he was cheating too – Cheaters LIE, whether they are under oath or not.
Obama 2012!
When I think of the word "despicable", Gingrich and the entire GOP comes to mind.
Gingrich, you are a hypocrite. Yes, President Clinton may have lied under oath but he should have never been asked the question in the first place. What he did behind closed doors was personal and his business, not yours and not mine.
"I didn't do the same thing. I have never lied under oath. I have never committed perjury. I have never been involved in a felony. He was," the former speaker said, referring to the allegations of perjury involving the Paula Jones sexual harassment civil case and Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky.
----------------–
The Lewinski affair is something that I found laughable at the time. I mean, you bring a man in front of the Congress and TV cameras, of course the man is going to find ways to deny it. The real question is why did Republicans do it? They have had a hair out of place ever since Democrats ran both Agnew and Nixon out of DC.
Americans can't have felons or hypocrites in the Oval Office, either. Newt uses public employment as a dating service. All he will do is fall for the first bird looking intern that he sees and marry her a few months from getting in office.
Give it to "em Newt!!
Newt lives th that strange fantasy world......can't believe this is the best the repubs can offier!!
Obama/Bidien 2012
Mr. Ramos didn't phrase the best question. The real hypocrisy is the political rationale that Gingrich used to impeach then Pres. Clinton. Once it became apparent that Gingrich couldn't make a sex crime stick, he had rationalized, "...that a man who would cheat on his wife is unfit to be POTUS." So, Newt sought to impeach Pres. Clinton.
WHATEVER NEWT! This guy will say anything as long as it fits at that time. Such a loser!
While it is correct that Newt didn't pay a fine for his ethics violations he did pay $300,000 for the cost of the investigation. Anybody in their right mind should know that he would not have agreed to the $300,000 cost unless he wanted the investigation hidden. People do not spend $300,000 for an investigation if they are innocent.
Actually, adultery is a crime in some states even now. Lying or sexual infidelity – both are wrong.
We also have character issues with most of the clowns show candidates of the GOP for president. Any question is fair, and the media does not need to be lambasted for asking those questions. (yes wingnuts, that even includes foreign owned media at Fox)
that exchange illustrates why repubs do not support nutty newty and why he is labeled "unelectable."
Gingrich / Cthulhu 2012!!! Don't settle for the lesser of 2 evils!
HMM..I think taking marriage vows is taking an oath. Not only did he break this vow several times..he did it in the worst way...actually dating his next in line wives for years while still married to another woman. HEY NEWTIE, PLEASE DON"T TRY TO MAKE YOURSELF ANYTHING MORE THAN WHAT YOU ARE..
I hate to say it but how one leads their personal life is not necessarily how one leads their public life. We each have both a private and a public persona we wish to uphold. I have seen incredibly honest and wonderful people turn to public tyrants and bullies. I have seen private bullies and tyrants turn into public saints. My experience with people is that we display different behaviors and standards privately and publicly. My personal relationship may be very contentious wit my spouse becasue of the relationship we have. I may do things that drive her crazy and perhaps I leave the bathroom seat UP @ home knowing it will drive her crazy. Yet, if I have a strong desire to be viewed as wonderful by the hundreds of people in the public, I will more tha likely perform in such a way that would have others view me in that way and put the seat down. Would it be hypocritical of me to say others who leave the seat up in public is hypocritical because I do at home? Yes and no. They are two very different situations seeking different results.
Let's get to judging the mans public displays to know how he will act publicly.
Only a lying gasbag like Gingrich could make a difference without a distinction: Gingrich lied to his wife, his constituents and colleagues for six years while he was having an affair with Callista. Lying is lying, period. May be someone could look into the divorce depositions from his previous two marriages. Clinton has more gravitas and charm than this pompous and sanctimonious guy will ever have.
Newt reminds me of, Rudy Guilani, he would pull the same how dare you question me act, when his affair with Judith don't call me Judy came to light, and the press for the most part cowed to his big bully antics. Same act different bully.
Although you didn't lie to a Federal Grand Jury and may not have perjured, you still CHEATED, having said that, that is a personal issue between spouses but does say a lot about your character. You cheat on someone you love, what will you do to cheat, hide and go against everything that is suppose to be sacred.
Typical right-winger...do as I say, not as I do.
Gingrich is doing everything he can to rehabilitate Slick Willy's reputation. Keep it up, Newt, and Clinton will be put up for sainthood.
Gingrich is an adulterer and sinned in the eyes of God.
It is not my place to forgive him, but it is my Christian duty not to vote for him.
Thank God this megalomaniac will never be President. He's pathological.
HA - Gingrich? Truth? HA.
He comes off as being so arrogant sometimes..jeez
"I didn't do the same thing. I have never lied under oath. I have never committed perjury. I have never been involved in a felony. He was,"
When you don't walk down the moral path, then just use the law to make yourself look good.
Newt might have gotten away with one trying to cover one lie with another but his current wife Carissa knows very well that he was "stirring the pot" while trying to impeach Bill.
Someone needs to tell Newt that it is not a win when 60% of the voters in SC choose someone else. And the way he went about his divorces is the issue, not that he is divorced.
egotistic hypocrite
Newt tells it like it is! Ya gotta respect that!
Meanwhile.....at CNN, John King rushes to interview Pelosi hoping to dig up some dirt on Newt after that spanking on national T.V.!!!
What a nit-picking hypocrite. He lied by omission during the Clinton impeachment. Does he honestly believe that carrying on an affair secretly while spending millions investigating Clinton for the same thing was okay? He certainly didn't disclose his affair during the impeachment, because he knew he would be villified. He didn't tell his wife until he was ready to divorce, so he lied to her the same way. Lie, lie, lie, and he's lying to us right now.
Newt, you are a disgrace to the entire country. You should be ashamed of yourself.
Dear Newt: The GOP "audience" may have agreed with you (and only because you took a shot at the media), but millions were watching and millions understand the kind of self-absorbed scum bag you are. Isolating perceived "perjury" as the reason for going after Clinton when you were involved in a scuzzy affair has a bad smell to it.
Character of a humanbeing determines the road before him/her..you past tells or at least gave what you are going to do or may do! Why is the public don't understand this very simple truth!! The fact that he was pointing at Clinton whilde he was doing it at the same time tells a lot about a person character. It's one thing to have pointed finger at Clinton, and it's totaly another THING when you point finger at adultry and fornication, and then the same time doing it. This guy really reminds me of the Pharasiees and Saducees in the time of Jesus, and yet the Chirstian Conservatives in South Carolina voted for the Saduccess and Pharasiees!!
Sorry Newt.
These people don't know the truth. Just because he states he never lied under oath doesn't mean he is tell you the truth!
Newt Gingrich is a VILE man. He had his daughters from his 1st wife try to convince everyone that his 2nd wife was lying about his 3rd wife.
Newt your a discrace to all americans!
I wont comment on the hypocrisy of this 'explanation', because it's self-evident. I do want to comment regarding Mr. Gingrich's 'outrage' at the first question of the debate: Despite how stupid he (and most of the Republican candidates)thinks we are, it's obvious to any adult here that the question, and the timing of it, was orchestrated by Mr. Gingrich in his ongoing attempt to make these debates not a serious discussion of varying policies and beliefs, but a self-congratulatory sideshow (look how I zinged that stupid librul moderator! listen to all the polysyllabic words I know!). A bonus for Gingrich is that the stooges in the audience are so dazzled by his performance that they don't notice that he NEVER actually answers a question. Meh.
Hypocrisy is about as common as breathing for a politician, but the Clinton impeachment represented two of the biggest hypocrisies in memory. First is Gingrich's affair at the same time. If you remember, the perjury aspect was rarely mentioned. All they talked about, endlessly, was Cliinton's sexual misbehavior. Ken Starr's report was nearly pornographic in it's graphic detail.
The second was that Clinton was impeached for lying about his sex life, and W was lionized for lying to start a war.
Gingeritch was in his second full blown adulterous affair, leaving his second wife in her hospital bed, to get the GOP base all frothy about Clintons one night standing.
Sleazy is what Gingeritch is good at – that's his history.
What a sorry excuse for a human being, dumping your two wives both at the time they discovered they were ill. Does this man have no shame, he is totally disgusting
its TOTALLY different because of WHO we lied to. Nice one. Such upstanding moral charcter.
Mr. Gingrich states "you cannot accept perjury in your highest officials.", well then that means that no one currently running for our nations highest office should be allowed to hold that office! I sure don't think any of them has never lied to us!
I don't believe there is a bigger hypocrite that Newt. He really believes his lies. There's medication for that.
Clinton was convicted of a felony?
Newt Gingrich: Impeaching Clinton while having an affair.....
Hypocrite is not in his vocabulary because he is a hypocrite. Who in hell would want this man as their president is beyond any comprehension. All because he has people fooled that he is such a genius and he can get that "Obama" person. So many things happened before the president took office and no one got as mad as their are now because now they have to "take back america". Yeah it will get taken right back to where it was four years ago. America you will get exactly what you want.
Newt says he was telling the truth about his affair when he was deposed in his divorce proceedings. Ok, he may have told the truth after having sworn an oath to tell the truth in front of a court reporter. Did he not also swear an oath to be faithful to his wife? Did he not lie to the public for years by pretending to be married to one wife while having a secret mistress, all the while lecturing liberals about "family values"? Truth? As Al Gore would say, "It's an 'inconvenient' truth."
I guess it's ok to lie as long as it is not in court. Nice message Newt.
Perhaps he didn't break manmade law, but didn't he take a vow, before God, at his first two weddings?
If only Newt could tell the truth, but that's beyond him. This guy is a first class hypocrite, period.
Loose cannon. Bad for diplomacy, bad for bipartisanship. His own party disowned him in the 90's and many congressmen/women say they won't support such a person who divides them and callsa them childish names. he calls Obama stupid, Romney a liar. He's a loose cannon. I cannot believe he's in the running. The GOP is a mess.
Let's see... Gingritch being deposed as part of a divorce: Yes, it's appropriate to question him about affairs.
Clinton being deposed by Starr whose mission was to investigate govt. corruption: No, it's none of his business what the president may be doing on the side. Clinton was stupid to lie. He should simply have said "that's out of your scope." or "none of your business."
To mention a man who deviled the office he held by receiving a BJ in the Oval Office,disgusting.
If he publically announces that he has repented and asked God for forgiveness of his sins, then his past mistakes are forgiven and forgotten by God. People forgive as they want to be forgiven. People also have trouble forgetting a person's past. To discount God's Word is to discount God. We all know there are many people who do not believe, and make light of those who do. I believe they will come before God, one day, and be held accountable for their actions.
I do not endorse any candidate. I am simply pointing out that we all have an ability to be forgiven by God and people. To forgive and be forgiven, we must act accordingly. The decisions we make affect not just us, but those around us. Each time we go to the voting booth, we voice our opinion on the direction of the nation. The people we elect are required to represent us, not tow the party line. This back and forth along party platforms has gotten old. Listen to the people or we will find people who will.
America, please make an informed vote, not on rhetoric or propaganda. The truth is out there. Work to find it.
OK..................such a typical repuk answer.................DENY DENY DENY then be "outraged" at the question being asked then DENY DENY DENY somemore. Good move playa!
There is no perceived hypocrisy with Gingrich, only hypocrisy. He pursued a line of attack based on behavior he was engaged in, and he still has the arrogance to try and justify and excuse it. Always remember, this is someone who believes himself to be in the same class with Churchill and de Gaulle, which clearly makes him delusional as well.
Well, Newt is right on this. The issue at hand was not the actual affair but Clinton's false testimony (the cover up) concerning it. The two situations are not comparable. Of course the lefties just love to try and compare them because the lefties completely excused Clinton's escapades as his private business.
Clinton lied....THAT was the impeachment offense...Not canoodling with other than the wife.
There is a distinct difference in what happened to the two men.
Newt can claim that Clinton prejured himself all he wants however he wasn't ever convicted of anything or proven guilty. Meanwhile Newt broke his marriage vows several times and didn't tell his wife until after he had cheated. Do we really want to elect someone into the highest office in the land that we ALREADY know can't keep his promises in his personal life?
Attacking the media when you don't like the questions they are asking might work with the GOP primary crowd, but it won't wrok in the general election. Clinton did lie under oath. However, I would like to see some video of Gingrich at the time. I don't think his only attacks on Clinton were about lying under oath. I believe there was a lot more sanctimonious moralizing, which we now know was total hypocrisy.
Newt married one of his high school teachers when he was 19 years old. He divorced her when she was sick with cancer. He divorced his second wife when she had MS, after years of affairs with his current wife. Total time between the two divvorces and remarriages – 10 months. Go ahead GOP, nominate this slimeball. He'll get eaten alive.
I can't believe people would go for newt over Romney.
Newter and the rest persued this affair with such zeal that they could not deal with any other issue. Sexual misconduct to them was the worst thing possible and that was the only thing they could do to keep Clinton down. After months (and millions of $) of this fanatical chase, they brought him before congress where he lied. The GOP was like a pack of lions chasing a wounded deer. Whatever they could do to impugn Clinton, they did. Try again, Newter. You lose
Looks like the sway of right wing media is rather limited. Thought the bombardment from Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and the like would make voters think twice about Gingrich. Well, didn't happen.
Mr.Gingrich will you sign a bill for open marriage ?Will you support 2/3 marriage or unlimited whatever you can destroy family life and value ? Did you ask mercy to your all victim and ex wife's ?Can you make dog tail straight with butter and oil if not.Then how can you change your character ? Why you are always telling Ex President Reagan. What you did your self and what can you do ? What Mr. Reagan did everybody knows in this country give less lecture on Mr.Reagan
"The CNN commentator decided to make it the first question on a national presidential debate. And I thought to myself we got unemployment, we have immigration, we have Afghanistan, we have the price of energy, we have housing problems," Gingrich said. "And these guys think this kind of trash ought to be the first question of the national presidential debate? By the way the audience agreed with me entirely."
Newt is yesterdays trash today !
Newt Gingrich / Tom DeLay
Mr Ramos is a serious reporter with a very respectable career. He only asked what everyone wanted to know. Mr Gingrich is wrong if he believes that something as delicate as what he did, won't go unnoticed. Doesn't matter anyways, regardless of who the nominee is, Barack Hussein Obama will b our president for 4 more years! Hispanics 4 Obama! Si se puede!
Newt spins everything, it is always the other guy , never will he admit his own hypocracy and still will lie like the dog he is! He makes me feel ill when I look at him!