URBANDALE, Iowa -- Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich acknowledged an extended consulting relationship with mortgage giant Freddie Mac, though he said he couldn't verify just how much he or his firm received in fees.

Gingrich denied having lobbied on behalf of the mortgage giant, but said his staff was looking into a Bloomberg News report that said Gingrich "made between $1.6 and $1.8 million in consulting fees" in his work for Freddie Mac between 1999 and 2008.

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