Did Newt Gingrich Threaten To Out Brit Hume's Gay Son & Spur His Suicide?

Gawker is reporting on explosive speculation from the Miami Herald that has apparently been a decade-long rumor in the DC press corps, even though it's not seen much print.

The rumor, in brief, is as follows: In the summer of 1997, the Hill's Sandy Hume—the then-28-year-old son of Fox News' Brit Hume—broke a blockbuster story about four GOP congressman who plotted, and failed, to overthrow Newt Gingrich as Speaker. One of those men was Bill Paxon, a New York Republican who was married to fellow Congresswoman Susan Molinari. Another of the plotters, Majority Leader Dick Armey, scuttled the coup when he learned that Paxon, and not he, would replace Gingrich. Armey later disavowed the whole attempt and claimed not to have been involved.

A few months later, in February 1998, Paxon launched an attempt to unseat Armey from his leadership position. Just days later, Sandy Hume killed himself with a gunshot to the head. Just days after that, Paxon suddenly and inexplicably resigned and never returned to public life. Almost immediately, rumors began flying that Hume and Paxon had been having an affair, and that Armey had threatened to out them. Hence the suicide and the sudden resignation.

Further down in the Gawker piece is what's new in the Herald story: "But Caputo adds a new wrinkle to the tale: 'Some' blame Gingrich, and not just Armey, he says, for the threat to go public with information about Hume and Paxon's alleged relationship."

Wow. Definitely hit both links for more.