FBI Considered a Sting on Newt in 1997 [View all]

[kpete]

Way back in 1997, when Newt Gingrich was Speaker of the House and married to his second wife, the FBI considered launching a sting operation over an alleged bribe.

The case was originally brought to the FBI and federal prosecutors by a convicted arms dealer, perfectly named Sarkis Soghanalian, who claimed that Marianne Gingrich (Newt's then-wife) said in 1995 during a meeting in Paris that she could provide legislative favors through her husband.

Soghanalian, who was convicted — and served two years — for conspiring to sell U.S. helicopters to Iraq, took Marianne up on her offer. He told her that he wanted Newt's help to get the Iraqi arms embargo lifted, so he could collect an outstanding $80 million debt from Saddam Hussein.... Daily Intel

http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2011/12/fbi-considered-a-sting-on-newt-in-1997.html