The healthcare think tank begun by Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which means liquidation,
the Atlanta Business Chronicle reports.
Gingrich started the Center for Health Transformation in 2003 and divested his stake in the for-profit organization in May 2011 before announcing his run for president, Stefan Passantino, a lawyer for the former House speaker who also served as counsel for the think tank, told
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The think tank has offices in Washington, D.C., Atlanta, and St. Louis. Gingrich hasn’t been involved in the company’s operations for almost a year, Passantino said, the Journal-Constitution reported. The bankruptcy filing “has no involvement with his campaign, and, if anything, goes to show how important his leadership was [to the think tank] flourishing,” the lawyer stressed.
Unsecured creditors of the center include Gingrich and his wife Callista; their film company, Gingrich Productions; Aflac and other insurance and healthcare firms; UPS; and the high-powered Atlanta law firm McKenna Long & Aldridge.
In its bankruptcy filing, the center cited liabilities of $1 million to $10 million, and 50 to 90 creditors. Political observers told the Chronicle that the negative publicity from this will doom Gingrich’s presidential campaign.
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