WILLIAM SCHNEIDER
Newt Gingrich, then speaker of the House, for years had used campaign donation money which was supposed to be used for promoting Republican candidates and political positions, to do so by purchasing Gingrich’s books with which to educate and inform people. The speaker had written them for a course in politics and was paid a significant amount for each sale. So Gingrich used campaign donation money to implement programs which happened to enrich him personally. The House had a rule limiting the amount of money that any Congressperson could earn beyond their salaries and Gingrich had gone way over that amount as a result of his book sales. After denying anything was amiss, he finally admitted to a technical violation of the House rules, but argued that he had broken no laws and should retain his Speakership. He was forced to resign, but later tried an unsuccessful run for the Republican Presidential nomination.
William Schneider is an American journalist. From 1990 to 2009 he served as CNN's senior political analyst. He is a Distinguished Senior Fellow & Resident Scholar at Third Way, a Washington think tank. Schneider is also serving as the Omer L. and Nancy Hirst Professor at George Mason University's School of Public Policy. He is also currently teaching at George Mason University Schar School of Policy and Government. He has also been a contributing editor to the Opinion section of the Los Angeles Times.
