. . . hired to insulate the company from republican criticism and efforts to dismantle it.Nov. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich said during a Nov. 9 debate that he earned a $300,000 fee to advise Freddie Mac as a "historian" who warned that the mortgage company's business model was "insane."
Former Freddie Mac officials familiar with the consulting work Gingrich was hired to perform for the company in 2006 tell a different story. They say the former House speaker was asked to build bridges to Capitol Hill Republicans and develop an argument on behalf of the company's public-private structure that would resonate with conservatives seeking to dismantle it.
If Gingrich concluded that the company's business model was at risk and that the housing market was a "bubble," as he said during the debate, he didn't share those concerns with Richard Syron, Freddie Mac's chief executive officer at the time, a person familiar with the company's internal discussions said.
Gingrich's role as a consultant for Freddie Mac was raised in the debate as Republicans, including House Financial Services Committee Vice Chairman Jeb Hensarling, a Texas Republican, are criticizing the $181 billion in taxpayer funds the company and its sister firm, Fannie Mae, have received since they were seized by the U.S. government in September 2008.
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