Nancy Pelosi told Talking Points Memo's Brian Beutler that she has a good bit of dirt on Newt Gingrich. Pelosi was part of the 1996-97 ethics investigation that resulted in Gingrich being censured for tax law violations. Apparently there was a lot more there that fell short of being censurable, but could still give Gingrich headaches. But Pelosi isn't giving any details just yet.
Pelosi didn’t go into detail about Gingrich’s past transgressions, but she tipped her hand. “One of these days we’ll have a conversation about Newt Gingrich,” Pelosi said. “I know a lot about him. I served on the investigative committee that investigated him, four of us locked in a room in an undisclosed location for a year. A thousand pages of his stuff.”
Pressed for more detail she wouldn’t go further.
“Not right here,” Pelosi joked. “When the time’s right.”
That time might very well be if Gingrich clinches the nomination--or possibly if he has enough support to become Romney's running mate.
Gingrich, for his part, says that if Pelosi reveals anything, she'll be breaking the rules herself.
“I would like to thank Speaker Pelosi for what I regard as an early Christmas gift,” Gingrich told reporters in New York today. Gingrich said that if Pelosi does release information from the ethics committee, she’s risking ethics charges of her own.
“That’s a fundamental violation of the rules of the House and I would hope that members would immediately file charges against her the second she does it,” Gingrich said.
Gingrich doth protest too much. Pelosi probably won't reveal anything that isn't public record.
Pass the popcorn.