WASHINGTON – Independent political groups backing top Republican candidates are taking advantage of federal rules that will effectively let them shield the identities of their donors until after key primary elections this month.
These political action committees, known as super PACs, notified federal election regulators in recent weeks that they intend to file their financial reports every month. Those requests, once approved, effectively will allow the groups to hold off disclosing the names of their contributors until after primaries in New Hampshire and South Carolina.
Without the change, those groups would have had to file reports before the GOP primaries.
Just this week, a new political committee supporting former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum — the Red, White and Blue Fund — made a similar request to the Federal Election Commission, which would delay its next deadline to file to Jan. 31. That’s the date of the Florida primary, after which candidates with little money will find it hard to continue the race.
Groups backing GOP candidates Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and Jon Huntsman have also said they would begin filing monthly reports, which they said eases administrative burdens. Before then, the super PACs filed reports quarterly to the FEC, a practice they said required
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