It's time for lawmakers to look into how "radical foreigners" are influencing the American system by contributing huge sums of money to U.S. interests, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Friday.
Gingrich, who opened the second day of the Conservative Political Action Conference, called for Congress to convene a set of hearings to determine the level of financial penetration of the American system, including that of the Clinton Foundation.
He told the early morning crowd that the Clinton Foundation was taking "money from foreign interests" while Hillary Clinton was still secretary of state.
"It has routinely accepted money from people who promote terrorism," Gingrich said, calling the ability of foreigners to pour cash into the United States a matter of national security.
He pointed out that back in 1938, a law was written to track the money coming into the country in order to repel the threat of Nazi Germany, and then after that, between 1945 and 1955, the nation was concerned with the Soviet Union and the possibility of "foreign subversion."
But, nowadays, even some of the nation's greatest universities and think tanks are accepting "millions of dollars from dictatorships," and Gingrich said he has to wonder every time he hears an "apologist" for Saudi Arabia or Qatar if the person speaking is "being paid to tell me it's OK."
"It means the people who want to eliminate the American concept of freedom of rule of law and replace it with a different vision are bribing us," said Gingrich, calling for Congress to decide the ground rules.
And while Gingrich said he doesn't necessarily believe Hillary Clinton would obey a foreign contributor, the money "leads to distorted policy."
"This is an enormous threat, and we need to have a response to lay out the facts," said Gingrich.
Gingrich also fielded questions on Cuba, saying the renewed relations with the country is one more betrayal of human rights "by the administration that betrays human rights all over the planet."
Another question, during the conference's newly added question and answer session, concerned the ongoing problems at the Department of Veterans Affairs, with Gingrich commenting that the country has a "moral obligation" to put veterans first.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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