Newt Gingrich is repudiating a 28-minute long feature paid for by his Super PAC attacking Mitt Romney's leadership at Bain Capital, hours after the Washington Post Fact Checker gave it "four Pinocchios" for inaccuracies.
“I am calling for the Winning Our Future Super-PAC supporting me to either edit its “King of Bain” advertisement and movie to remove its inaccuracies, or to pull it off the air and off the internet entirely," Gingrich said in a statement.
Gingrich also called on Romney to repudiate ads taken out by the Super PAC supporting him to do the same — the topic of a flareup between the two men in a debate on Sunday morning.
In the debate, Gingrich expressed knowledge of the contents of the yet-to-be released ad, but said he hoped that it was accurate.
"It takes broad shoulders to run. Can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen. When the 27 and a half minute movie comes out, I hope it's accurate," he said in the Meet the Press/Facebook Debate.
"I-- I-- I-- I can say, publicly, I hope that the Super PAC runs an accurate movie about Bain. It'll be based on establishment newspapers, like the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, Barron's, Bloomberg News, and I hope it is totally accurate. And then people can watch the 27 and a half minutes of his career at Bain and decide for themselves."
In the debate, Romney maintained that he can't ask the the Super PAC to do anything, because he is legally barred from coordinating with them — but asked that they refrain from running falsehoods.
“Hold on a second. I -- I can’t direct their ads. If there’s anything in them that’s wrong, I hope they take it out. I hope everything that’s wrong...is taken out.”
Here is the campaign's statement:
A Test of Leadership: Gingrich Repudiates Inaccuracies In SuperPac Ad. Will Romney Do The Same?
Orlando, FL – Newt Gingrich released the following statement calling for truth and accuracy from campaigns and so-called “Super-PACs” supporting candidates.
“The American people have a right to know the facts about the records of the men and women who are asking them for their vote.
“Governor Romney is running as someone who knows how to create jobs. In fact, he has claimed to have created 100,000 jobs while at Bain Capital. However, numerous analyses have said that figure is as inaccurate as President Obama’s claim to have “saved or created” millions of jobs.
“Furthermore, Governor Romney’s experience as a portfolio manager did not help him create an environment in Massachusetts that was friendly to job creation. As Governor, Mitt Romney raised $700 million in taxes and fees, despite a campaign pledge not to, and Massachusetts ranked 4th worst in job creation under his leadership.
“These are just some of the facts which President Obama would use to undercut Governor Romney’s claims to be a job creator if he is the Republican nominee. Given these facts, it is entirely appropriate for Republican Primary voters to ask questions to determine whether Governor Romney is presenting himself in an accurate light.
“This call for accuracy, however, is a two way street. Just as candidates must be certain to accurately present their own records, they also have a responsibility to describe the records of their fellow candidates accurately. And they have a responsibility to make sure that their supporters are doing the same.
“This week, fact check organizations like The Washington Post and Politifact have ranked advertisements produced by Super-PACs supporting Governor Romney and myself as containing enormous inaccuracies.
“I am calling for the Winning Our Future Super-PAC supporting me to either edit its “King of Bain” advertisement and movie to remove its inaccuracies, or to pull it off the air and off the internet entirely.
“Furthermore, I am once again calling on Governor Romney to issue a similar call for the Super-PAC supporting him to edit or remove its ads which have been shown to contain gross inaccuracies, something the Governor has thus far refused to do.
“The American people deserve a robust debate and full comparison of the plans and records of the people who are asking for their vote. They also deserve assurances that the information they are hearing is accurate. I am committed to holding my campaign and my supporters to this high standard of accuracy and I hope Governor Romney will do the same.”