Come again, Mr. Speaker?

Gingrich owns up to extra-marital affair
By Alex Spillius in Washington
Last Updated: 2:05am GMT 10/03/2007



Newt Gingrich, the Republican who led efforts in Congress to impeach Bill Clinton over his involvement with Monica Lewinsky, has admitted he was having an affair at the time.

Mr Gingrich, who has not ruled himself out of the 2008 presidential race, said in an interview with the Christian group Focus on the Family: "The honest answer is yes. There are times that I have fallen short of my own standards. There's certainly times when I've fallen short of God's standards."

His extra-marital activity has been widely reported previously but never admitted by the former house leader.

Mr Gingrich however argued that he should not be viewed as a hypocrite for pursuing Clinton's infidelity.

"The president of the United States got in trouble for committing a felony in front of a sitting federal judge," the former Georgia congressman said. Clinton was impeached by Congress in December 1998 on perjury and obstruction of justice charges during an investigation into his relationship with Miss Lewinsky. He was acquitted at a Senate trial.

Mr Gingrich added: "I drew a line in my mind that said, 'Even though I run the risk of being deeply embarrassed, and even though at a purely personal level I am not rendering judgment on another human being, as a leader of the government trying to uphold the rule of law, I have no choice except to move forward and say that you cannot accept...perjury in your highest officials."

Gingrich, who frequently campaigned on family values issues, has married three times. His first wife claims he discussed divorce details while she was recovering from cancer surgery. His current spouse, Callista Bisek, is a former congressional aide more than 20 years his junior.