Larry Sabato, a University of Virginia political scientist whom Gingrich had also touted as a contributor to the course, soured on the experiment as well. It was an odd public-private partnership.
Kennesaw State provided classroom space to Gingrich and gave out course credits to students who participated in the class, but it relied on a third-party called the Washington Policy Group to manage and raise funds. Gingrich promoted the entire operation in floor speeches.
Step 5: Public to Private. When a new Georgia state law explicitly prohibited public universities from sponsoring elected officials as teachers, Gingrich found a new home for Renewing American Civilization but kept the operation intact. He simply moved the course from Kennesaw State to tiny Reinhardt College.
Step 6: Sanctions. In some cases, the committee decided not to pursue a matter any further simply because he had stopped the unethical activity that had gotten him in trouble in the first place; for other charges such as the use of official resources for his own nonprofits , Gingrich received letters of admonition. That same year, Abraham Lincoln Opportunity was stripped of its nonprofit status by the IRS, only to have it restored again six years later in a decision that raised eyebrows among campaign finance watchdogs.
Whether or not Gingrich technically broke House rules, his makeshift fundraising network was undeniably shady. He gladly appropriated a tax-exempt organization aimed at helping inner-city kids and used it to finance his goal of winning control of the House of Representatives.
He likewise took two nonprofit educational institutions and used them to host a college course whose partisan aims he happily gushed about in private correspondence, and whose high-profile advisers actually repudiated it. At a campaign stop in New Hampshire in November, Gingrich promised that if elected, he would teach an online class to the American people. The course, he said, would be free to the public.
Fresh off an upset win in the South Carolina primary Saturday night, Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich found himself facing questions around the ethics charges brought against him during his tenure as Speaker of the House. The ethics investigation led to his eventual resignation from Congress. From CNN :. Gingrich also claimed he persuaded fellow Republicans in the House of Representatives to vote "yes" on the ethics charges against him in order to put a swift end to the proceedings.
Doing so helped lawmakers move on the balancing the budget, Gingrich said. Days before the South Carolina primary, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney called on Gingrich to release the full ethics report. Romney said he worried about an 'October surprise' if the former speaker didn't go public now. Pelosi has warned she has damaging information on the former speaker.
Ben Jones files complaint against Gingrich. Jones alleged Gingrich's college course, financed with tax-deductible donations, was a violation of federal tax law. The committee hires James Cole as an independent counsel to investigate whether the speaker violated tax laws in the financing of his college course. David Bonior D-Mich. June 28, -- House votes along partisan lines not to widen independent counsel James Cole's investigation.
Jim McDermott D-Wash. Steve Largent of Oklahoma says it would be a good idea for Gingrich to step aside until the ethics issues are resolved. Separately, Reps. Chris Shays R-Conn.
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