Employees of presidential candidate Newt Gingrich grew increasingly concerned in recent years about their boss’s purchases from luxury jeweler Tiffany & Co., worried that if he followed through on plans to run for president it could become a political liability.
The purchases included jewelry items valued as much as $300,000 for his wife’s Christmas gifts, selected each year during a fall Potomac River cruise sponsored by the jeweler. On a smaller scale, Gingrich spent about $40,000 over four years buying Tiffany trinkets as Christmas gifts for up to 100 employees, according to three former employees who asked not to be named because of the issue’s sensitivity.
The former employees agreed to be interviewed by the The Washington Post to explain how staff concerns mounted about Gingrich’s spending and his relationship with Tiffany. All three said they admire Gingrich but question his judgment.
Politico reported a month ago that Gingrich and his wife maintained a $250,000 to $500,000 personal credit line at Tiffany in 2005 and 2006, which was acknowledged in financial disclosure forms filed by Callista Gingrich, a former congressional staffer.
The Gingrich campaign recently confirmed to The Post that Gingrich maintained a second Tiffany credit line for $1 million, which will be listed on his presidential candidate financial disclosure forms. But a spokesman said Gingrich has no debt with the company.
Gingrich’s Tiffany spending has been questioned by his Republican opponents. He has offered few details of his relationship with the jeweler or the purchases made.
Gingrich campaign communication director Joe DeSantis declined to address the details offered by the employees, and dismissed their accounts as trivial.
Read more at The Washington Post.