CNN: Newt Gingrich, not wife, pressed for first divorce
Last month, on a campaign website, GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich said it was his first wife, Jackie Battley Gingrich, who asked for their divorce back in 1980.
But CNN reports that it has obtained previously – shall we say – protected documents from the Carroll County court system that indicate the separation was requested by Gingrich, then a Georgia congressman.
Not a good thing to come out a week before the Iowa caucuses, when one is trying to draw a comparison with a desperate Washington crossing the Delaware River.
From CNN:
The documents, and interviews with people close to the couple at the time, contradict the Gingrich claim about who wanted the divorce.
Newt Gingrich filed a divorce complaint on July 14, 1980, in Carroll County, saying that “the marriage of the parties is irretriebably (sic) broken.”
Jackie Battley Gingrich, the congressman’s wife and the mother of Jackie Gingrich Cushman, responded by asking the judge to reject her husband’s filing.
“Defendant shows that she has adequate and ample grounds for divorce, but that she does not desire one at this time,” her petition said.
“Although defendant does not admit that this marriage is irretrievably broken, defendant has been hopeful that an arrangement for temporary support of defendant and the two minor daughters of the parties could be mutually agreed upon without the intervention of this court,” her petition said. “All efforts to date have been unsuccessful.”
When CNN presented the information found in the divorce file to the Gingrich campaign, its spokesman stood by the contention that it was Gingrich’s ex-wife who asked for the divorce in 1980.
- By Jim Galloway, Political Insider
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119 comments Add your comment
Easy
December 27th, 2011
4:05 pm
Wow, how the libs morels have changed since ole Billy was in office! We now know all there is to know about the personal lives of Newt, Herman and Tiger but nothing about our President……interesting.
mahopinion
December 27th, 2011
4:22 pm
Who files for a divorce first may or may not be any indication about who first wanted the divorce. In this case, we are talking about a marriage that ended 30 years ago. Does it really matter at this point who asked who?
Quit Gingrich
December 27th, 2011
4:45 pm
Newt Gingrich and Herman Cain should be good friends because they both like WOMEN!!!
Mayfly
December 27th, 2011
5:13 pm
When G.W. Bush pushed for the invasion of Iraq–a country that had absolutely nothing to do with 9/11–he and his helpers decided not to show the costs of that war in the US budget. Remember Cheney saying something about, “this war will pay for itself?”
Well, Bush & all succeeded in stealing the Iraqi’s oil for themselves and their international oil partners (including the House of Saud–and it was a member of the House of Saud, Bin Laden, who was behind 9/11.) The Iraq war did not “pay for itself”–it ran up a tremendous debt that was not shown on the books.
When Obama took office, he said that the debt should be shown on our account books, and now it is. So that’s what the Republicans means when they say that Obama tripled our national debt.
No, he didn’t. Obama just revealed to the American public the debt that was already there and put there by the Bush people.
whatajoke
December 27th, 2011
5:19 pm
Isn’t it funny, both of Boortz’s boys are manWh0res.
Oh, that makes me a socialist, anti-capitalist, anti-American, wealth envy, communist…….blah, blah,blah
ATP
December 27th, 2011
5:25 pm
@mayfly – you right thank you. Obama and company had zero to do with the $5triilion new debt created nice he became president. I bet you vote democrat….. Just how did Bush and company steal Iraq’s oil? What are they doing with these new found billions?
NoObama
December 27th, 2011
5:32 pm
All politicians mess around. It’s in their blood. We need someone who can get us out of this mess and he/she better surface soon!
zeke
December 27th, 2011
5:35 pm
well it sure isn’t a repub….wall st collapse, 2 wars and no funding for medicare D
jay
December 27th, 2011
5:37 pm
Mitt Romney, a mormon, believes that God came down from Heaven, the same real God that created all of everything that has ever been and will ever be, came down and spoke “face to face” ( even though the Bible says “no man shall see the face of God AND LIVE” ) with the founder on the mormon church, “Joseph Smith” or something and he still wind up getting locked up for fraud later in life. Come on Man! And now he has guys riding around the country recruiting more future wives for their welfare state of Utah then their own Planet, wow. Ron Paul wants to put black folks back in slavery.
sad American
December 27th, 2011
5:39 pm
Observer has been smoking the same as woohoo. If Ford wanted bail outs they would have asked for them. What facts are not clear? Democrats = Socialist and GOP’s are Fascist. You would rather not work and be cared for like a child or make a living earning for your family based on the life choices you have made? My choice is to keep more of what I earn so cut out the subsidies.
Hot Dog
December 27th, 2011
5:45 pm
Hey Oblama,
We politicians lie…. just look at Oblama. …Is that like saying WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION? AKA GEORGE THE VILLAGE IDIOT BUSH? OR DID YOU FORGET THE REASON WE WENT TO WAR IN IRAQ?
Hey Truman’s Mom, It’s a real shame that you are stuck on STUPID. Hopefully you are not someone’s mother. Your children would have to fight everyday because EVERYONE in the TRAILER PARK WHERE you live, know YOU are stupid.
Hey WHmS, If you had a daughter that was married to a loser like Newt, would you tell her to stay married and keep her mouth shut or would you tell her to move on? Unlike you, morals are important. If you can’t lead in your own home, what makes you think you can lead a nation?
It’s very obvious that you have no morals with a comment like that. Tell your wife to watch her back. You may have a honey waiting in the wings yourself!
Ross Perot
December 27th, 2011
5:50 pm
If you really want President Downgrade to triple the debt, give the congress back to the dems. Heck, they’re so busy finding ways to spend money they don’t have time present a budget!
TrumansMomsaho
December 27th, 2011
6:37 pm
Worse than Bush lite? No way in your ever popular hell. Obama has been a disappointment I agree but only because he has caved so often to Orangeman. That and not ending the lie of a war in Iraq sooner. Thank Bush*it for that “little” lie. How many brave soldiers died so Bush JR could claim a bigger d*ck than daddy? F*uck you and all your ilk that put that retard in office.
Jeb
December 27th, 2011
6:52 pm
Maybe sometime prior to Newt filing for the divorce in court she did ask him for the divorce. Just because he was the first to file doesn’t mean she wasn’t the first to ask. The court filings don’t prove or disprove anything.
RGB
December 27th, 2011
8:28 pm
Wouldn’t it be beneficially to the American citizenry if people who worked for news organizations showed even a fraction of the interest in, say, ObamaCare, Dodd-Frank, etc. as they do in Newt’s first divorce, his shopping proclivities, etc.?
But–it’ll never happen. No wonder folks distrust the media.
Why not write a story detailing how many taxpayers were needed to pay for just this one Obama Hawaii vacation?
LeeH1
December 27th, 2011
8:50 pm
Remember when the Republicans lead by Newt impeached President Bill Clinton, it was “because of the lying, not the sex”! Well, the lying sexter is lying again.
I see he has also promised he won’t cheat on his current wife. Funny, he won’t swear he hasn’t cheated on her already.
Slim Pickin's?
December 27th, 2011
8:58 pm
It’s customary not to ask for/agree to a divorce if financial matters aren’t settled. His wife was looking for child support and alimony. Not petitioning was her way of sticking it to the man.
td
December 27th, 2011
9:19 pm
The assumption here is that Newt wanted the divorce because he filed. I guess that means that 80% of all women in today’s society wants the divorce since they are the ones that file?
BTW: I wonder how many people knew that Newts first wife was also his teacher in HS and that they started dating then? In today’s society, with today’s laws she would have been prosecuted.
Obama the Communist
December 27th, 2011
9:40 pm
Hey Hey Hey……You guys STOP slamming Newt for lying…….I have been lying to this country for three years and you all ( the dumb masses ) keep on loving me……..Remember all of you government educated idiots out there….Obama/Biden 2012…….
Sincerely yours,
Barak