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Gingrich: I had affair during Lewinsky case

By TIMES WIRES
Published March 9, 2007

WASHINGTON

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich was having an extramarital affair even as he led the charge against President Clinton over the Monica Lewinsky affair, he acknowledged in an interview with a conservative Christian group. "The honest answer is yes," Gingrich, a potential 2008 Republican presidential candidate, said in an interview with Focus on the Family founder James Dobson to be aired today. "There are times that I have fallen short of my own standards. There's certainly times when I've fallen short of God's standards." Gingrich argued, however, that he should not be viewed as a hypocrite for pursuing Clinton's infidelity. "The president of the United States got in trouble for committing a felony in front of a sitting federal judge," the former Georgia congressman said of Clinton's 1998 House impeachment on perjury and obstruction of justice charges. "I drew a line in my mind that said, 'Even though I run the risk of being deeply embarrassed, and even though at a purely personal level I am not rendering judgment on another human being, as a leader of the government trying to uphold the rule of law, I have no choice except to move forward and say that you cannot accept ... perjury in your highest officials.' "

BOSTON

Obama pays his Harvard tickets

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama got more than an education when he attended Harvard Law School in the late 1980s. He also got a healthy stack of parking tickets, most of which he never paid. The Illinois senator shelled out $375 in January - two weeks before he launched his presidential campaign - to finally pay for 15 outstanding parking tickets and their associated late fees. Jen Psaki, a spokeswoman for the Obama campaign, dismissed the tickets as not relevant. "He didn't owe that much and what he did owe, he paid," Psaki said. "Many people have parking tickets and late fees."

WASHINGTON

FEC: Kucinich must give money back

Three years ago, long after Sen. John Kerry had clinched the Democratic presidential nomination, fellow Democrat Dennis Kucinich continued to campaign for the White House. Now, federal regulators say the Ohio congressman has to pay for his futile adventure. The Federal Election Commission on Thursday said Kucinich, who is again running for president, must repay the government $135,518 in public matching funds that he spent after he had become ineligible to use them. Candidates who receive less than 10 percent of the popular vote in two consecutive primaries lose their eligibility for money from the taxpayer financed presidential campaign fund.

[Last modified March 9, 2007, 02:11:15]