A Newt is like a salamander, only ugly like a toad

Newt accused of misleading donors
By: Kenneth P. Vogel
The Politico

Newt Gingrich’s aides misled a foundation into making an improper $50,000 contribution to his political group, according to a lawyer for the foundation.

Gingrich’s group, American Solutions for Winning the Future, returned the check to the Colorado-based Hasan Family Foundation after determining tax laws would bar the foundation from giving to a political organization.

But Ryan Call, a lawyer for the foundation, blamed Gingrich’s group for the error. American Solutions specifically assured the foundation it could make the contribution, he said, “and that wrong answer was what the family foundation relied upon in making its contribution.”

The mix-up was “unfortunate,” Call said, but he added, “I don’t think it was anything malicious or intentional or an attempt to deceive. I just think it was a little bit of inadvertent oversight.”

He said American Solutions quickly flagged the contribution, which it received July 24, as problematic and made arrangements to return it.

But they didn’t act fast enough to keep the contribution from appearing on American Solutions’ monthly financial report, filed last month with the Internal Revenue Service. Politico revealed the contribution in an Aug. 22 story.

(Continued here.)