12/10/08 Update: Congressional committees were required to file pre-runoff reports, not political action committees. In addition, the congressinal committees were not required to file a Post-General report (see reports filed by Chambliss and Martin.)  

Summary of National Republican Trust PAC FEC reports:

Pre-General covering 10/1 to 10/15
Pre-Runoff covering 10/16 to 11/12
Post-General covering 11/13 to 11/24

It looks like the weasels at the NRT PAC deliberately misinterpreted the rules to mask its activity between 10/16 and 11/13.

Why?

I've been complaining for several days about the National Republican Trust PAC's failure to disclose the names of individuals who contributed more than $5 million between 10/16 and 11/12 in its Post-General Report filed with the FEC on 12/4.  I subsequently learned the NRT PAC did disclose the information in an  FEC Form 3X  labeled "Pre Runoff" filed on 11/20 which covered the period between 10/16 and 11/12. 

Labeling contributions made between 10/16 and 11/4 as "Pre Runoff" technically may be permitted under FEC regulations but the mischaracterization certainly is not in compliance with spirit of the law.

Click "Contributors" on the FEC NRT PAC summary page,  and the only names that appear are those of 339 individuals who contributed to the NRT PAC between 10/1 and 10/15. 

I downloaded the data from Form 3X into a spreadsheet and will analyze it as time permits. It appears that the $5.1 million in unitemized contributions made all the difference in the NRT PAC's ability to finance the television ads.

I'd like to know if  similar political action committees report 50% of their contributions as unitemized. I'd also like to know what threshold the NRT PAC used to report unitemized contributions because it reported itemized contributions as low as $25.

Joshua M. Ambush, NRT PAC assistant treasurer, must have been running the show since he was  paid a significant amount in management fees.    

More to come.