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Mitt Romney made no promises Monday on 'Today' when Matt Lauer asked him directly whether he will take down an ad that uses NBC's archived footage of Tom Brokaw reporting on Newt Gingrich's ethics violations on Jan. 21, 1997, the day that he was found guilty.
Romney said that his campaign would sit down with the lawyers before making any decision about the ad, then went on to defend it.
"I think the reason that it was so effective as an ad was that this was not something which Speaker Gingrich could say had been distorted or Romney was telling things that were not accurate," he said. "This was the news from the night the speaker was sanctioned and reprimanded by his own members. People heard the news, they didn't hear it filtered, it was just straight on, no heavy music that suggested some kind of sinister background. Instead just Tom Brokaw, a very credible and respected journalist, reporting the news. I think it was pretty devastating. It pointed out that what Speaker Gingrich has been trying to hide is now out in the open."
Lauer persisted, "You will give some consideration to pulling it if that's what the decision of your campaign is?"
"We'll certainly consider that very carefully," Romney said. "This was not something taken from hidden files. This was on the evening news, so it should hardly come as a revealing piece for people who watch it."
NBC has called for Romney to pull the ad after Brokaw said he was "extremely uncomfortable" being dragged into the primary crossfire.