Fox Business
Expand
Browse All Video
Watch Live

You're watching...

Newt Gingrich’s Big Payday From Freddie Mac

Details

  • Description

    FBN’s Gerri Willis on why Newt Gingrich was hired by Freddie Mac.

  • Duration 3:27
  • Date

Clips

Also in this playlist...

Latest Video

Auto-advance: ON

Auto-advance
View All

Transcript

This transcript is automatically generated

Talk about a revolving door.

After leaving office in the late 1990s.

New Gingrich developed a relationship.

With mortgage giant Freddie Mac.

Now Freddie Mac alone has gotten more than seventy billion dollars from us taxpayers.

Over the last three years money to bail them out.

-- -- told use some of that money has gone to pay huge bonuses to executives.

Just how much money the Gingrich get as a consultant to Freddie.

Well -- just say depends on who you talk to.

Here's what presidential the presidential candidates himself said last week at the presidential debate.

Thirty seconds to you.

-- firm was paid 300000 dollars by Freddie Mac in 2006.

What did you -- -- that money.

You we ask me yes I offer them advice on non precisely what they didn't do.

It pick.

Hot 300000.

Turns out the actual amount he made for consulting with Freddie Mac is more than five times that.

Reports show Gingrich actually made between one point 601 point eight million dollars just in 2006.

So why do you get the big bucks.

It wasn't that he had a lot of experience in the mortgage industry a former Freddie Mac official -- that this what he was tired because he was Newt Gingrich.

He was hired to strategize.

About identifying political friends on Capitol Hill -- would help the company down the road.

Internal Freddie Mac records show nearly twelve million dollars was paid out in 2006.

To 52 lobbyists and consultants.

All of them are former Republican lawmakers -- staffers.

And a listing -- -- -- says includes former New York senator Alfonse D'Amato and the chief of staff to former house majority leader Tom DeLay.

So there's a lot makers especially -- Gingrich can ridicule Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for their role in the mortgage meltdown publicly.

In front of you and me.

While privately pocketing millions from these companies.

About a double standard.

The double standards are nothing new to congress members.

It's an issue we discussed on this program before and it was brought to light again Sunday in -- sixty minutes report on congressional insider trading.

Now this is -- congressional officials and lawmakers staffers buys stocks based on upcoming legislation impacting certain companies or industries.

Guess what it's legal that's right.

According to CBS house speaker John Boehner minority leader Nancy Pelosi.

And lots others made huge profits from this inside information now.

Bidder for one says his money is managed by a professional -- makes all the decisions on his investments.

Pelosi and others are flatly denying the charges.

But now some of the senate are trying to make this process illegal.

Just like it has -- -- -- Republican Scott Brown of Massachusetts Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand of New York.

Are working on legislation to stop the practice Brown's bill called stop trading on congressional knowledge or stock act.

Would prohibit anybody on Capitol Hill from using information are making information public for personal gain makes a lot of sense but the best solution.

Congress should put their investments and I mean members of congress here they -- -- their investments in blind trust when they take office.

That way they turn over control -- an outside advisor completely.

Our elected officials should be stopped from benefiting financially from their bird's eye view.

Policy making.

That's what I think.

Load More