Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich got a warm – if somewhat sleepy – reception from a half-empty ballroom during his early morning CPAC speech on Friday, where he called the Clinton Foundation’s receipt of millions in foreign dollars “a mortal threat to the freedom of the United States” and urged a congressional investigation.

Promising to give a speech on “the worldwide movement of radical Islamists,” the former GOP presidential hopeful focused more on probable Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton’s ties to foreign money — some of which he says came from Islamist-supporting dictatorships.

“The Clinton Foundation is going to have to lay out every foreign dollar they’ve gotten — period,” he declared, as audience members trickled in.

“As a historian and former Speaker of the House, I really am worried that our news media is incapable of distinguishing trivia from national security,” Gingrich said, to loud applause. ”This isn’t just one of those standard political stories. This isn’t just ‘gotcha.’ This is a mortal threat to the freedom of the United States, the integrity of the American system, our capacity of protect ourselves, our ability to have an honest conversation.”

The former Speaker exhorted lawmakers to investigate the Clinton Foundation, warning foreign money could “taint” a Hillary presidency.