Romney Campaign Press Release - Savannah Morning News: Thought Gingrich Claims He Didn't Lobby, Georgia law Says He Did

"The reports said people paid to promote products or services to state officials were legally considered lobbyists in Georgia. At issue: a 2004 pitch Gingrich made to fellow Republicans in the state House for firms that each paid his company at least tens of thousands of dollars."

"Gingrich Lawyer Says Newt Didn't Lobby, But 2003 Executive Order Seems To Show He Did"

Savannah Morning News

By Larry Peterson

February 9, 2012

http://savannahnow.com

Newt Gingrich's presidential campaign has challenged reports that he lobbied in Georgia in 2004 as lobbying was then defined.

The reports said people paid to promote products or services to state officials were legally considered lobbyists in Georgia.

At issue: a 2004 pitch Gingrich made to fellow Republicans in the state House for firms that each paid his company at least tens of thousands of dollars.

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In 2003 however, GOP Gov. Sonny Perdue signed an executive order that expanded the definition of lobbying to include people who try to peddle products or services to state officials.

It required that prospective vendors "cause such lobbyists to register" and that the state reject contracts with vendors that didn't comply.

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Gingrich was an owner of the Center for Health Transformation, a for-profit group described by spokeswoman Susan Meyers as "a project of" a Gingrich company, the Gingrich Group.

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The center offered memberships for annual fees ranging from $20,000 to $200,000, Desmond said recently.

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But in 2004, Gingrich met on behalf of the center with Georgia House Republicans. He talked up, among other paid members of the center, a firm called VitalSpring

Technologies.

The McLean, Va., company, which calls itself "an innovator in health benefits supply chain intelligence," was a dues-paying member.

According to a document on the center's website, Gingrich described specific benefits if members were hired.

"VitalSpring," he said, "could save the State Employee Program over $20 million a year."

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William Perry, executive director of Common Cause Georgia, a nonpartisan political watchdog group, said the presentation was lobbying as defined by the executive order.

"They can say it's not lobbying all they want," Perry said, "but the executive order spells it out pretty clearly. If you look at the order, you will see he was lobbying."

The law recently was changed to redefine lobbying as applying only to someone who spends 10 percent of his time each month on lobbying activities.

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That's not the issue, Perry said.

"It's whether you want to follow the rules," he said. "I can run a stop sign when no one's looking. That doesn't mean it isn't wrong."