Et tu ABC?

In what can only be described as a purely speculative hit piece ABC, Thompson's home network, disingenuously accuses Thompson of evasion and expediency.

Thompson Uses Loophole to Avoid Reporting Fundraising

Former Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn., has avoided revealing his fundraising figures by exploiting a legal loophole whereby he says he is simply "testing the waters" for a campaign — even as his supporters build an infrastructure for his all-but-official run.

But supporters of campaign finance reform, as well as Thompson's opponents, say that he is violating at least the spirit of the law, despite his past support for openness in government and the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform law.

With the help of a former FEC chairman on Thompson's payroll, the ex-Tennessee senator is evading, at least for now, the requirements of the campaign finance system that he helped reform. In the words of an attorney associated with another campaign, Thompson is "playing footsie" with the campaign rules.

This is a poorly researched and intentionally misleading pantload. The FEC explicitly provided for a candidate to form a "testing the waters" committee, a technical term that allows any candidate to forgo filing a detailed report on June 30 – though once he's an official candidate, he'll have to file retroactively. This "specific" clause allows Thompson to raise money, travel and conduct polling to determine whether a bid is feasible. If he were to start campaigning, he officially would become a candidate, subject to filing requirements.

Thompson has certainly followed both the letter and spirit of the law as he has NOT campaigned , declared himself a candidate or even voiced specific positions. He is adhering to the rules precisely as the FEC intended.

The author is just pi$$ed off because Thompson is running first or second in the polls which is something the FEC probably hadn't envisioned. Too bad, so sad.