Common Cause Wants Ethics Check Of Gingrich Book Deal

Common Cause, the public affairs lobbying group, called Thursday for an outside ethics adviser to examine House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s book deal and recommend whether the House ethics committee should allow it or not.

Common Cause’s request, made in a letter to the ethics panel, is significant because it was the group’s urging in 1988 for similar action in the case of former House Speaker Jim Wright that eventually turned the tide against Wright.

Common Cause joins a growing list of those calling for some sort of independent evaluation of the book contract.

Gingrich agreed last fall to a $4.5 million advance from HarperCollins, whose owner, Rupert Murdoch’s global media empire, has telecommunications matters worth billions of dollars before the government.

Under pressure, Gingrich later spurned the advance but said he would take the standard percentage of whatever royalties the book earned. This could still win him millions of dollars.

Fred Wertheimer, president of Common Cause, said the group was calling for the action now because it was important to examine the public record surrounding the deal before Gingrich actually signs a contract.

Tony Blankley, Gingrich’s press secretary, said there was no comparison between Wright’s activities and Gingrich’s. He said the questions raised about Gingrich’s book “are frivolous allegations being driven by his former political opponent,” a reference to Ben Jones, a Democrat.