Newt Gingrich Accuses Romney of Throwing "Wild Punches" in "Desperate" Bid to Win Presidency

Republican Presidential Candidate Newt Gingrich lashed out at Mitt Romney on "Fox & Friends" Tuesday accusing his fellow candidate of throwing "wild punches" in a "desperate" bid to win the presidency.

The attacks were in response to Romney suggesting the former house speaker resigned from the speakership in "disgrace" and calling Gingrich an "influence peddler" for his consulting work with mortgage lender and federal bailout recipient Freddie Mac.

Gingrich said Romney's comments were "patently untrue."

"I did no lobbying of any kind," the South Carolina primary winner said. "We had a very specific understanding I would not lobby."

"He's saying it out of pure desperation," Gingrich continued. "I find it a sad way to run for president."

Gingrich also mentioned that after Monday night's republican presidential primary debate in Tampa, FL, he learned Romney owned stock in Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, something Gingrich said he's never owned.

However, Romney advisers refuted those claims Tuesday on a conference call discussing the release of Romney's 2010 and 2011 tax returns. The advisers said the former Massachusetts governor had no involvement in the stock ownership because the investments were held in a blind trust.

As for Gingrich's new apparent debate strategy of acting as the frontrunner and focusing his attacks on President Barack Obama, he said he "didn't want to get into some kind of brawl with Romney" and would focus on the real issues such as the Florida housing crisis and Iran.