Marianne Gingrich

When Newt Gingrich was agonizing over whether to give up a controversial $4.5-million book advance, he consulted a trusted confidential adviser. "Newt called me on New Year's Eve and said that was (his wife) Marianne's idea,' " said Gingrich's mother-in-law, Virginia Ginther. "He said they had talked it over and Marianne thought it was not good to take the money at the time." Unlike the other Mrs.

Despite Mitt Romney's loss in the South Carolina primary, few of his supporters seemed worried about his prospect of clinching the nomination.   David Smoot, a real estate developer who drove down to Romney's primary party from his home in Raleigh, N.C., said he believed Romney's second-place finish would encourage him to defend his record more forcefully. He chalked up the loss to "unthinking voters" and insisted that Gingrich would never become the Republican nominee.   "If you want someone to lead the country, why would you let a serial adulterer be our standard-bearer?"

Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich and his estranged wife have reached agreement on division of income and assets in advance of their pending divorce, the Atlanta-Journal Constitution said. Marianne Gingrich filed papers in August accusing Gingrich, who resigned from Congress after Republicans lost seats in the November 1998 election, of attempting to transfer assets that the couple held jointly before filing for divorce.

Newt Gingrich's win in South Carolina has fueled a sixfold increase in tweets about the remaining four GOP president hopefuls, according to an analysis by San Francisco-based Kanjoya. Kanjoya, which uses a computer algorithm to assess emotion on Twitter about the candidates, said the sharp uptick in volume began when the polls closed at 4 p.m. Pacific time. From the 30 tweets per minute the company was analyzing for each candidate earlier in the day, the number rose to 180 per minute.

It took only a matter of minutes for the explosive allegations by Newt Gingrich's ex-wife that he once asked for an “open marriage” that would include his mistress to emerge front and center at Thursday evening's Republican debate in South Carolina. Immediately after the candidates introduced themselves, Gingrich was asked about claims his second wife, Marianne, made to ABC News and the Washington Post this week that the former House speaker in 1999, allegedly in the midst of an affair with now-current wife Callista, had asked her to engage in a permissive three-way arrangement.

Newt Gingrich asked for an "open marriage," his ex-wife says in a new interview being aired just 48 hours before South Carolina voters head to the polls (see video below). Speaking with ABC News, Marianne Gingrich says that her then-husband made the request as he disclosed his six-year affair with a congressional staffer. "I said to him, 'We've been married a long time.' And he said, 'Yes, but you want me all to yourself,' " Marianne Gingrich told the network. She said her husband responded that the other woman "doesn't care what I do. " "He was asking to have an open marriage and I refused," she said.

Re "Gingrich: Do as I Say, Not as I Do," Column Left, Aug. 17: I am certainly relieved that our newly found moralist Robert Scheer is upset over the revelation that Newt Gingrich wants a divorce and has been foolin' around, too. But, then, he should relax. After all, it's only sex. As for sexual harassment: Shucks, President Clinton took that one off the plate for good. And I'm sure that he really, truly, doesn't believe that old left-wing conspiracy charge any more than he did the previous right-wing conspiracy charge.

Rep. Bill Alexander (D-Ark.) filed a formal complaint with the House Ethics Committee Tuesday accusing Minority Whip Newt Gingrich of violating House rules with an unusual 1984 book promotion deal. Alexander listed 10 alleged violations of House rules in the complaint, filed as the Ethics Committee, in a closed session, discussed the results of a lengthy investigation of House Speaker Jim Wright that was initiated by Gingrich. "Mr. Gingrich is a congressional Jimmy Swaggart, who condemns sin while committing hypocrisy," Alexander said.

Despite Mitt Romney's loss in the South Carolina primary, few of his supporters seemed worried about his prospect of clinching the nomination.   David Smoot, a real estate developer who drove down to Romney's primary party from his home in Raleigh, N.C., said he believed Romney's second-place finish would encourage him to defend his record more forcefully. He chalked up the loss to "unthinking voters" and insisted that Gingrich would never become the Republican nominee.   "If you want someone to lead the country, why would you let a serial adulterer be our standard-bearer?"

The news that Newt Gingrich is headed for his second messy divorce, allegedly involving a longtime affair with a House of Representatives employee, has been largely ignored by news media that have not always been as sensitive to the privacy needs of major politicians. It's true that Gingrich is no longer in Congress, where he orchestrated the impeachment of the president of the United States over charges rising from Bill Clinton's sexual dalliances.

Two new polls out on Friday suggest trouble for Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney. Gallup's tracking poll shows Romney's lead nationally ? which was 23 percentage points last week ? has fallen considerably. He still leads the pack of Republican contenders ? which is now considerably smaller after the departure of Jon Huntsman and Rick Perry this week ? but by just 10 percentage points. Romney has 30% support, followed by Newt Gingrich with 20% and Ron Paul and Rick Santorum, who are tied at 13% "Clearly things are collapsing," Gallup political director Frank Newport said in an appearance on MSNBC earlier today.

Two new polls out on Friday suggest trouble for Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney. Gallup's tracking poll shows Romney's lead nationally - which was 23 percentage points last week - has fallen considerably. He still leads the pack of Republican contenders - which is now considerably smaller after the departure of Jon Huntsman and Rick Perry this week - but by just 10 percentage points.  Romney has 30% support, followed by Newt Gingrich with 20% and Ron Paul and Rick Santorum, who are tied at 13% “Clearly things are collapsing,” Gallup political director Frank Newport said in an appearance on MSNBC earlier today.

In the increasingly volatile race for the Republican presidential nomination, at least one analyst suggests that Newt Gingrich's ex-wife's claims about his infidelity will help power him to a win in the South Carolina primary. Why? Because Gingrich was served “a fastball down the middle” on the matter at Thursday night's debate and “just knocked it out of the park.” So says Matthew Dowd, the GOP strategist who was on ABC's “Good Morning America” on Friday. “This moment was a gift for Newt Gingrich,” Dowd said.

Newt Gingrich asked for an "open marriage," his ex-wife says in a new interview being aired just 48 hours before South Carolina voters head to the polls (see video below). Speaking with ABC News, Marianne Gingrich says that her then-husband made the request as he disclosed his six-year affair with a congressional staffer. "I said to him, 'We've been married a long time.' And he said, 'Yes, but you want me all to yourself,' " Marianne Gingrich told the network. She said her husband responded that the other woman "doesn't care what I do. " "He was asking to have an open marriage and I refused," she said.

It took only a matter of minutes for the explosive allegations by Newt Gingrich's ex-wife that he once asked for an “open marriage” that would include his mistress to emerge front and center at Thursday evening's Republican debate in South Carolina. Immediately after the candidates introduced themselves, Gingrich was asked about claims his second wife, Marianne, made to ABC News and the Washington Post this week that the former House speaker in 1999, allegedly in the midst of an affair with now-current wife Callista, had asked her to engage in a permissive three-way arrangement.

Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich and his estranged wife have reached agreement on division of income and assets in advance of their pending divorce, the Atlanta-Journal Constitution said. Marianne Gingrich filed papers in August accusing Gingrich, who resigned from Congress after Republicans lost seats in the November 1998 election, of attempting to transfer assets that the couple held jointly before filing for divorce.

House Speaker Newt Gingrich's wife, who has no previous experience in trade promotion, has been hired at an undisclosed salary to help recruit businesses for a free-trade zone in Israel. For the past few months, Marianne Gingrich has been quietly working as vice president for business development of the Israel Export Development Co. Ltd., whose investors include a number of American businessmen, such as CBS president Laurence A. Tisch, clothing magnate Sy Syms and real estate developer Robert V.

Two new polls out on Friday suggest trouble for Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney. Gallup's tracking poll shows Romney's lead nationally ? which was 23 percentage points last week ? has fallen considerably. He still leads the pack of Republican contenders ? which is now considerably smaller after the departure of Jon Huntsman and Rick Perry this week ? but by just 10 percentage points. Romney has 30% support, followed by Newt Gingrich with 20% and Ron Paul and Rick Santorum, who are tied at 13% "Clearly things are collapsing," Gallup political director Frank Newport said in an appearance on MSNBC earlier today.

Re "Gingrich: Do as I Say, Not as I Do," Column Left, Aug. 17: I am certainly relieved that our newly found moralist Robert Scheer is upset over the revelation that Newt Gingrich wants a divorce and has been foolin' around, too. But, then, he should relax. After all, it's only sex. As for sexual harassment: Shucks, President Clinton took that one off the plate for good. And I'm sure that he really, truly, doesn't believe that old left-wing conspiracy charge any more than he did the previous right-wing conspiracy charge.

The news that Newt Gingrich is headed for his second messy divorce, allegedly involving a longtime affair with a House of Representatives employee, has been largely ignored by news media that have not always been as sensitive to the privacy needs of major politicians. It's true that Gingrich is no longer in Congress, where he orchestrated the impeachment of the president of the United States over charges rising from Bill Clinton's sexual dalliances.