Gingrich reportedly paid $1.6 million by Freddie Mac

Newt Gingrich made between $1.6 million and $1.8 million in consulting fees from two contracts with mortgage company Freddie Mac, according to a report by Bloomberg News.

The total amount is significantly greater than the $300,000 payment from Freddie Mac that Gingrich was asked about during a Republican presidential debate on November 9 sponsored by CNBC, and more than was disclosed in the middle of congressional investigations into the housing industry collapse.

Gingrich’s business relationship with Freddie Mac spanned a period of eight years, Bloomberg reported. When asked at the debate what he did to earn a $300,000 payment in 2006, the former speaker said he “offered them advice on precisely what they didn’t do,” and warned the company that its lending practices were “insane.”

Former Freddie Mac executives who worked with Gingrich dispute that account.