Michele Bachmann 'Shocked' at Newt Gingrich's Defense of Freddie Mac

Newt Gingrich's ethics and conservative credentials were called into question by Michele Bachmann and Ron Paul at Thursday night's debate.

After hearing Gingrich defend his involvement with Freddie Mac, Paul said, "He has a different definition of private sector."

The Texas congressman called government-sponsored enterprises like Freddie "the worst kind of arrangement. The mixture of business and government is very dangerous. At its extreme, it becomes fascism."

Bachmann said she was "shocked" at Gingrich's defense of Freddie Mac, which she called "the epicenter of the mortgage meltdown."

"The speaker had his hand out to influence senior Republicans and keep the scam going. Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae need to be shut down, not built up."

Gingrich said his work with Freddie Mac, which paid him $1.8 million as a consultant, was something he believed in and wasn't motivated by money.

"I am a national figure, writing best-selling books," he said.