ABC reporter Brian Ross spoke with Newt Gingrich’s second wife, Marianne Gingrich, for two hours and the interview will air on ABC tonight. The content of the interview is so damaging that ABC debated whether or not to air the interview before the South Carolina primary. Some of the ABC executives wanted to hold off on airing the interview until after the votes had been counted on Monday.
Gingrich’s two daughters from his first marriage wrote a letter to ABC officials pleading with the network not to air the interview. Other methods have been put forth by the Gingrich camp to deflect and delay the controversy from hitting the public as well. Some of the content from the letter to ABC is below:
“ABC News or other campaigns may want to talk about the past, just days before an important primary election,” they wrote, adding that their father’s campaign would concentrate on issues important to voters.
“The failure of a marriage is a terrible and emotional experience for everyone involved. Anyone who has had that experience understands it is a personal tragedy filled with regrets, and sometimes differing memories of events.”
“We will not say anything negative about our father’s ex-wife,” the statement continued. “He has said before, privately and publicly, that he regrets any pain he may have caused in the past to people he loves.”
Gingrich had a different opinion about politicians’ private lives back in 1998 though:
“The speaker (Gingrich) once again pledged to say during every public appearance that Americans have the right to know the truth about the Lewinsky matter and that the president is not above the law.”
The interview will be aired by ABC on Thursday night during Nightline. There have yet to be any excerpts from the video released.