Newt Gingrich’s presidential campaign is over $1 million in debt, nearly half of which — $451,946 — is attributable to his preference for private jets.
That’s how much the Gingrich campaign owes to Moby Dick Airways, the same company he used for flights paid for by his former 527 group, American Solutions. In April, May and June of last year, American Solutions gave $677,539 to Moby Dick Airways.
Adding in the $41,453 and $10,478 payments Gingrich’s campaign already made to Moby Dick in April and May brings the total amount he paid the private plane company over the half-million mark. His list of campaign expenditures includes 30 separate travel-related payments, most of them for thousands of dollars each.
For comparison, Dave Weigel looks at the travel expenses of the Tim Pawlenty campaign, which total just $11,554.90 to airline companies, most of them commercial airliners.
Since his campaign ran into financial issues and most of his staffers left, Gingrich has reportedly made the switch to flying commercial, the campaign told the Daily Caller.
Moby Dick Airways used to be owned by the current owner of Republican Presidential Travel, a company recently used by Sarah Palin.
Ryan J. Reilly
Ryan J. Reilly is a D.C.-based reporter for TPM. Prior to joining TPM, he worked for a news website covering the Justice Department and was a researcher for Bloomberg News. His email address is ryan(at)talkingpointsmemo.com.
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