Gingrich’s Business Received $220,000 From Charity He Founded

A charity founded by Newt Gingrich has paid $220,000 over the past two years to a business run by the former House speaker and current Republican presidential candidate, ABC News reports.

Renewing American Leadership, which Mr. Gingrich started three years ago and which features him on its Web site and fund-raising appeals, purchased books and DVDs he wrote or produced from the for-profit Gingrich Communications.

The payments appeared in an audit commissioned by West Virginia officials but did not need to be disclosed on Renewing American Leadership’s tax forms because Mr. Gingrich is not a member of the charity’s board.

The Gingrich campaign issued a statement that the ABC report “did not find any activity that was not fully supported by the law.”

However, Daniel Borochoff, president of the American Institute of Philanthropy, told the network that the arrangement “violates that spirit” of separating politics from nonprofit organizations’ work.

From The Chronicle’s archive: Read about Mr. Gingrich’s activities as leader of nonprofit advocacy group.