http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_theti...controversy-may-be-getting-worse-for-gingrich
Tiffany’s denies it lobbied Gingrich’s wife or offered the couple special treatment
Tiffany's is denying reports that it gave Newt Gingrich favorable terms on a no-interest loan or lobbied his wife when she worked for the House Agriculture Committee.
"We had no reason to lobby the Agriculture Committee and we did not. Nor did anyone at Tiffany & Co… ever speak to Speaker Gingrich or Mrs. Gingrich about either of these matters," Tiffany's spokesman Carson Glover said in a statement Thursday. "Our focus has been on the Natural Resources Committee which has jurisdiction over these matters."
The company was responding to a report by Spy Talk's Jeff Stein that Tiffany's had lobbied the House Agriculture Committee on mining issues when Gingrich's wife, Callista, worked there--the same period when Gingrich received a no-interest loan from the jeweler.
The Washington Examiner's Timothy P. Carney reported Thursday that Christy Evans, a top Gingrich aide when he was in the House, is a registered lobbyist for Tiffany's and was leading their lobbying efforts at the time.
As The Ticket reported last week, House ethics disclosures filed in 2005 and 2006 by Callista Gingrich revealed the former House Speaker recently owed between $250,000 and $500,000 to the jewelry company.
Gingrich has defended the credit line, telling CBS's "Face the Nation" that he's paid off the bill, and the couple is now "debt free." But, in doing so, he revealed his agreement with Tiffany's was a "no-interest" credit line--which prompted the Washington Post's Glenn Kessler to wonder how Gingrich got such a great deal.
Tiffany’s denies it lobbied Gingrich’s wife or offered the couple special treatment
Tiffany's is denying reports that it gave Newt Gingrich favorable terms on a no-interest loan or lobbied his wife when she worked for the House Agriculture Committee.
"We had no reason to lobby the Agriculture Committee and we did not. Nor did anyone at Tiffany & Co… ever speak to Speaker Gingrich or Mrs. Gingrich about either of these matters," Tiffany's spokesman Carson Glover said in a statement Thursday. "Our focus has been on the Natural Resources Committee which has jurisdiction over these matters."
The company was responding to a report by Spy Talk's Jeff Stein that Tiffany's had lobbied the House Agriculture Committee on mining issues when Gingrich's wife, Callista, worked there--the same period when Gingrich received a no-interest loan from the jeweler.
The Washington Examiner's Timothy P. Carney reported Thursday that Christy Evans, a top Gingrich aide when he was in the House, is a registered lobbyist for Tiffany's and was leading their lobbying efforts at the time.
As The Ticket reported last week, House ethics disclosures filed in 2005 and 2006 by Callista Gingrich revealed the former House Speaker recently owed between $250,000 and $500,000 to the jewelry company.
Gingrich has defended the credit line, telling CBS's "Face the Nation" that he's paid off the bill, and the couple is now "debt free." But, in doing so, he revealed his agreement with Tiffany's was a "no-interest" credit line--which prompted the Washington Post's Glenn Kessler to wonder how Gingrich got such a great deal.