Gingrich campaign admits error
(CNN) - Newt Gingrich's campaign admitted Wednesday night the former House speaker was inaccurate when he claimed his team offered several witnesses to ABC News to refute statements made by Gingrich's second wife in a controversial interview aired last week.
CNN Chief National Correspondent John King reported the campaign said it only recommended Gingrich's two daughters from his first marriage, who wrote a letter discouraging ABC to release the interview.
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Marianne Gingrich claimed in the ABC interview that her husband asked for an open marriage while he was having an extramarital affair with his current wife, Callista Gingrich.
"The story was false. Every personal friend I have who knew us in that period says the story is false. We offered several of them to ABC to prove it was false. They weren't interested," Gingrich said at a CNN debate last week.
In an interview on Tuesday, King pressed Gingrich on those claims, saying ABC News insisted no such witnesses were put forward.
Gingrich said ABC's defense was "just plain baloney."
"If they're saying that, then they're not being honest," Gingrich said. "We had several people prepared to be very clear and very aggressive in their dispute about that, and (ABC News) wasn't interested."
On Wednesday, however, the campaign conceded the candidate was wrong, both in his debate answer and in his interview with CNN on Tuesday.
R.C. Hammond, the campaign's press secretary, told CNN the only people the campaign offered to ABC were the speaker's two daughters, Jackie Cushman and Kathy Gingrich Lubbers, who make regular appearances for their father on the campaign trail.
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Hey, it got him South Carolina. That's Newt. Truth matters less than votes and persuasion.
Maybe Rep. Joe Wilson will show up at the next debate and shout at Newt, "YOU LIE!" Probably not.
Newt is not only a twice admitted adulterer, but now also a liar too! What news does Nancy Pelosi have? Are their other women out there ready to come forward? Or did Nancy and Newt............no I am too much of a gentleman, I won't go there!!
So, he lied, repeatedly over and over – but the main thing is that he is conservative and stands by his principles.