"There is something I know"

Credit: Lauren Victoria Burke

In response to a question from CNN's John King about her reaction to the possibility of Newt Gingrich attaining the Presidency, Nancy Pelosi said:

Let me just say this. That will never happen. He's not going to be President of the United States. That's not going to happen. Let me just make my prediction and stand by it. It isn't going to happen. There is something I know. The Republicans, if they choose to nominate him, that's their prerogative. I don't even think that's going to happen.

In the midst of wild speculation over what Pelosi could be referencing, Gingrich shot back in an unwise way:

Well, if she suggested that she's going to use material that she developed when she was on the ethics committee, that is a fundamental violation of the rules of the House and I would hope that members would immediately file charges against her the second she does it. 

Pelosi is clearly threatening Gingrich, indicating that if he continues to pursue the Presidency, she might reveal some (presumably) disqualifying information about him. In my opinion, that is a very distasteful tactic. However, Gingrich does himself a great disservice with his counter-threat. "If you tattle on me you're gonna be in TROU-BLE!" is what a guilty ten-year-old would say. Gingrich should have said, "There's nothing she could possibly know about me that would be so egregious as to be disqualifying. I'll respond when and if she actually makes a substantive assertion," but he didn't.

Gingrich's response leads me to believe there might be something pretty big here.