Newt Gingrich Cautions GOP On Scandals: 'I Think We Overreached In '98'

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R) cautioned Republicans against overreaching while dealing with the Internal Revenue Service's targeting of tea party groups.

Gingrich told NPR Repubilicans "need to be calm and factual" when dealing with scandals, and used his own experience pushing for President Bill Clinton's impeachment as an example of overreach.

"I think we overreached in '98," Gingrich told NPR's Mara Liasson for a story that aired on Friday's "Morning Edition.

On May 10, the IRS apologized for targeting conservative groups with the words "tea party" or "patriots" in their names in the lead-up to the 2012 election. President Barack Obama called the actions "intolerable and inexcusable."

Gingrich said Republicans "should invite every single tea party, conservative, patriot group that was messed over by the IRS -- every single one of them -- to come in and testify, so that they build this deadening record of how many different people were having their rights abused by this administration."