Interview reveals Gingrich warned against changing Freddie

Freddie Mac paid a consulting firm headed by Republican presidential nominee Newt Gingrich a $25,000 monthly retainer in 2006, according to documents released by The Gingrich Group and posted on its website.

The contract capped the retainer at $300,000 for the year.

The documents reveal little about what Gingrich actually did for Freddie. But an early 2007 interview discovered by The Wall Street Journal shows the presidential hopeful trumpeting the government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) and warned against changing their business model.

“I’m convinced that if NASA were a GSE, we probably would be on Mars today,” Gingrich said in the interview.

Since the financial crisis, Freddie has drawn more than $72.2 billion in bailouts from the Treasury Department and paid back nearly $15 billion. Combined, Fannie Mae and Freddie owe the Treasury $151 billion in funds.