BOSTON -- Mitt Romney stepped Friday into the political controversy surrounding the question of precisely when he ceded control of the private equity firm he founded, saying in an interview that despite reports that his name continued to appear on government documents on behalf of Bain Capital until 2002, he had absolutely no working relationship with the company after leaving in February 1999 to take over the Salt Lake City Olympic Games.

"In February of 1999 I left Bain Capital and left all management authority and responsibility for the firm. I had no ongoing activity or involvement in the affairs of Bain Capital because I went out to run the Olympics," Romney told NBC's Peter Alexander in an interview in New Hampshire. "And so in February of 1999 I became the full-time chief executive officer of the Salt Lake Olympic Organizing Committee and I had after that time no work whatsoever with Bain Capital people. No responsibility or activity with the management of Bain Capital."

After a Boston Globe story published Thursday called into question the timeline of Romney's departure from Bain Capital the Romney campaign has been under siege from negative headlines and attacks from Democrats. The issue is important to the electoral narrative because Romney's campaign has claimed that several controversial investment decisions made after 1999 were done without Romney's input.

Romney on Friday insisted he did not attend a single meeting or or participate in any major decisions at Bain after February 1999.

"I don't recall a single meeting or a single participation in an investment decision by Bain or personnel decision," Romney said. "I left the firm. I was full time running the Olympics in 2002, and the years leading up to it."

On Thursday, Obama deputy campaign manager Stephanie Cutter said on a conference call with reporters reporters that the SEC filings revealed either 1) that Romney's involvement with Bain extended beyond 1999 and he wasn't being truthful to the voters, or 2) that he and Bain made a mistatement on goverment documents, which could be a felony.

In response, Romney might have called upon President Obama to "rein in" his campaign.

"The president's campaign has been I think outrageous I think in making the charges they have," Romney said. "I think the kinds of attacks are beneath the dignity of the presidency. I think the president needs to rein in his campaign and start talking about the real issues people care about which relate to our economy."

In an interview with Virginia television station WJLA earlier Friday afternoon, President Obama weighed in on the controversy, saying that he thought the debate over when Romney left Bain was relevant to the national conversation because it strikes at the issue of responsibility, and that he thought Romney would have to answer questions about his Bain tenure sooner, rather than later.

NBC News

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney talks with NBC's Peter Alexander on Friday.

"Ultimately Mr. Romney, I think, is going to have to answer those questions, uh, because if he aspires to being president one of the things you learn is, you are ultimately responsible for the conduct of your operations, but again that's probably a question that he's going to have to answer and I think that's a legitimate part of the campaign," the president said in the interview.

Romney further defended his campaign's decision not to release more than two years of his personal tax returns, saying that he had met all federal requirements for transparency into his financial background, and that he would not provide release more information simply to provide fodder for Democratic opposition researchers.

"You know actually Congress has decided what information is necessary and appropriate to come from a presidential candidate. And they’ve laid out what that is through a financial disclosure process and I’ve complied with all of that," Romney said. "And then in addition to that, I’ve provided tax returns, and will provide another tax return this year.  But you know, I understand that the opposition research people at the Obama campaign want more information that they can dig through. You know what? I’ve put out as much as we’re gonna put out, once I’ve added this year, and that’s the information that gives people more information than what is required by law."

In a final note about his personal finances, Romney said the Swiss bank account opened on his behalf by his blind trustee Bradford Malt, revealed in his financial disclosure forms, was not indicative of how his investments were structured, and that "ninety nine point five percent," of his investments were in American enterprises.

Evan Vucci / AP

People line up for a fundraiser for Mitt Romney hosted by former Vice President Dick Cheney on Thursday, July 12, 2012 in Wilson, Wyo.

Updated 12:00 a.m. ET: WILSON, Wyo. -- Mitt Romney's campaign roped in more than $4 million in a single campaign stop here in Western Wyoming with a boost from one of the most controversial political figures of the last decade: former Vice President Dick Cheney.

Cheney, who has not previously appeared with Romney on the campaign trail, was effusive in his praise for the presumptive GOP nominee, calling him the only man he would want at the helm in the event of another crisis like the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

“Sooner or later there is going to be a big surprise,” Cheney said. “Usually a very unpleasant one. Whether it’s 9-11 or the other kinds of difficulties or crises that arrive, they always do. That’s when you find out what kind of leader your president is.”

He continued: “When I think about the kind of individual I want in the Oval Office in that moment of crisis, who has to make those key decisions, some of them life and death decisions, some of them decisions as the commander-in-chief who has the responsibility of sending our young men and women into harm's way -- that man is Mitt Romney."

Romney returned Cheney's praise but did not mention Cheney's former boss, George W. Bush. However, Romney did praise the former president's "freedom agenda" at a private Q&A session afterward, which was overheard by reporters.

In his remarks, Romney also declined to engage in the ongoing battles over his tenure at Bain Capital, which claimed the political spotlight Thursday as Democrats highlighted reports that Romney remained in control of the company after he claimed to have left for the 2002 Olympics.

Romney did, however, pounce on comments made by President Obama today to CBS News.

Obama had said: "When I think about what we've done well and what we haven't done well, the mistake of my first term - couple of years - was thinking that this job was just about getting the policy right. And that's important. But the nature of this office is also to tell a story to the American people that gives them a sense of unity and purpose and optimism, especially during tough times."

"What was his answer as to his biggest mistake? Not telling stories to the American people about his vision. That was his biggest mistake. Oh really? Really?" Romney said incredulously. "Look, look he's out of touch, he's out of excuses, he's out of ideas and we've got to make sure in November we put him out of office."

Attendees, many dressed in their Western finest -- dark cowboy boots with suits -- dined on prosciutto-wrapped shrimp, potstickers and crostini, and sipped wine and Amstel Lights as they meandered about beneath a large white tent set up on the driving range. More than 500 donors were expected to attend Thursday night's event, with at least 250 planning to attend the night's $30,000 finale: a private dinner here at Cheney's residence on the golf course. 

Garrett Haake / NBC

Protesters marched down the beach in New York's Hamptons to demonstrate against the power of deep-pocketed donors over the political process.

SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. – In one of the most sizable shows of force from protestors seen on the campaign trail in weeks, a group of more than 60 demonstrators – backed by air support in the form of a banner plane – staged a protest of Mitt Romney's third and final fundraiser here on Sunday.

The fundraiser, at the beachside home of billionaire industrialist David Koch, was to cap a day of fundraising in New York's tony Hamptons communities that could bring in millions of dollars for the campaign's "Victory" fund. It marked Romney's return to the campaign trail after a week of vacation at his summer home in New Hampshire.

Romney and his guests received a loud – and at times profane – welcome from dozens of protesters representing organizations from Occupy Long Island to Greenpeace, which largely blocked a section of Meadow Lane to shout, "Shame on You!" (and unprintable variants thereof). The protesters waved signs at those who attended the back-to-back fundraisers hosted by Clifford Sobel, the former U.S. ambassador to Brazil, and later, by Koch.

It was Koch, whose net worth Forbes magazine pegs at $25 billion, who drew most of the protesters’ ire. Holding signs that compared the fundraiser's reported ticket price of $50,000 to their annual salaries or even life savings, the protesters decried the power of donors like Koch and his allies over American politics.

When local law enforcement officially cleared the protest, the demonstrators decamped from the street and – in one of the strangest visual moments of the campaign – marched nearly a mile down the beach to Koch's house.

Accompanied by a bass drum, horns and even a tenor saxophone, the ragtag band arrived at the stretch of beach behind Koch's house after a 20-minute walk, where roughly a dozen police, Secret Service and Romney staffers stood on the dunes that marked the line of demarcation between the public beach and Koch's private land, and told the protesters they could go no further.

And so they stayed - chanting, singing, and waving signs as a plane buzzed overhead, pulling a banner that read, "Romney has a Koch Problem. MoveOn.Org." While some protestors shouted obscenities as the security watching them from the dunes above (and from a Coast Guard vessel off the coast), this reporter saw no direct confrontations between protestors and authorities.

The climax of the protest event came when the saxophonist, David Intrator, 55, of New York City, led the protesters in a spotty rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner," which most of the group joined, though some continued to chant slogans as they sang.

CONCORD, N.H.-- On the eve of the Republican National Convention this August, real estate mogul and reality TV star Donald Trump will accept an accolade of his own just an hour south of Tampa as he receives the 2012 "Statesman of the Year" award from the Sarasota Republican Party.

An invitation to the event, which serves as a fundraiser for the Sarasota GOP, shows ticket prices ranging from $150 for general admission to $1,000 for a private meeting with the outspoken Trump at the Ritz Carlton in Sarasota.

Trump spokesman Michael Cohen says Trump is "honored to be the recipient of this prestigious award," which was bestowed in 2011 on former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour. Then-presidential candidate Herman Cain delivered the keynote address at that ceremony.

Despite controversy surrounding his persistent questioning of President Barack Obama's American citizenship, Trump has emerged as a prominent surrogate for presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney; recording robo-calls and conducting interviews for Romney's in early primary states, and raising money on the candidate's behalf.

In May, Trump hosted a fundraiser for Romney at Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, and on June 28 he attended another fundraising event for the former Massachusetts governor in New York City. A heavily promoted "Dine with the Donald" event, in which donors could win a contest to have a meal with Trump and Romney, was rescheduled, according to aides to both men. 

Despite all this, the two have not campaigned together -- or even been seen in public together --  since Romney accepted Trump's endorsement in February, fueling speculation that the Romney campaign would prefer to keep its distance from its supporter's more controversial remarks.

Trump's presence just an hour down Interstate 75 from the Tampa convention, set to begin the following Monday, could put an unwanted spotlight on his birtherism at a time when most Republicans would rather talk about almost anything else.

Cohen, however, said he expected Trump to take an active and visible role in the convention.

"It would seem obvious that Donald Trump will play a role in the Tampa convention, as his massive popularity, reflected in this recent award, shows what an asset he would be in making the convention into an even greater success."

STERLING, Va. -- Mitt Romney reserved some of his harshest criticism of President Barack Obama's health care reform law for the eve of the Supreme Court ruling that will decide its fate, labeling the law as "moral failure" by a president who chose to focus on healthcare, rather than jobs, at a time of national economic crisis.

"His policies were not focused on creating jobs. They were focused on implementing his liberal agenda. There’s nothing wrong with people having an agenda, but when the country’s in crisis, you have a moral responsibility to focus on helping people come out of that crisis," Romney said at a rally here Wednesday evening. "It was not just bad policy; it was a moral failure to put forward a piece of legislation that wouldn’t help Americans get back to work, and to focus the energy of the White House on Obamacare."

With the Supreme Court expected to rule on the constitutionality of the law – which includes the individual mandate -- on Thursday morning, Romney took the opportunity to batter the controversial law before a friendly, energetic audience, suggesting that Obama will spend a sleepless night tonight fretting about the future of the legislation.

"My guess is they're not sleeping real well at the White House tonight. That's the way it ought to be," Romney said. "And this is a decision, by the way, about whether or not Obamacare is constitutional, whether it passes constitutional muster.  So we're all waiting to see how the court will decide, one thing we already know however -- we already know it's bad policy and it's got to go."

Romney went on to preview, as he did at a campaign stop in southern Virginia on Tuesday, his response to the court's possible action on the law. The former Massachusetts governor said that if the law is upheld, he would work to repeal it as president, and if it gets struck down, he would replace it with "real reform." Romney did not specify what such reforms would entail.

Democrats quickly pounced on Romney's critique of the law, pointing out that the federal law was inspired by Massachusetts’s health care law that Romney helped to enact, complete with an individual mandate similar to the one he now assails.

“In Virginia today, Mitt Romney cheered for a repeal of Obamacare, which was modeled after Romney’s own health care law in Massachusetts that he now runs away from," Obama spokeswoman Lis Smith said in the statement. "But Americans won’t be cheering for Mitt Romney after they learn that his plan for health care would allow insurance companies to discriminate against them if they have a pre-existing condition, kick their kids off their parents’ plans when they graduate, and charge women higher premiums than they charge men for the same coverage."

PARK CITY, Utah -- After two days of meetings, meals and hobnobbing with the candidate, his top advisers and leading figures of the Republican party here in this exclusive resort community, Mitt Romney's biggest donors and bundlers say they are fired up and ready to go.

Charles Dharapak / AP

Mitt Romney greets attendees at the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials conference in Orlando, Fla.

"I’m going to do everything that I can do. I’m going to bundle every penny I can get," said Michigan lawyer Rodger Young, a long time Romney supporter who, like the hundreds of other guests here, have raised or personally donated more than $50,000 to Romney's campaign. "I think I came here with the idea that we were all going to take on more finance responsibility and I’m certainly prepared to do that."

"It’s even more than hopeful," a donor from New Orleans said of the atmosphere at the retreat. "We are beyond that now."

It is precisely that spirit which Romney and his campaign are looking to capture with this weekend's retreat, designed as a rally, a reward and a launching pad for top donors to continue to support the campaign -- and get their friends and family to do the same.

To generate such goodwill, Romney's campaign invited the donors and their spouses here for two days of briefings on campaign strategy and policy issues, intermixed with opportunities to rub elbows with Republican stars like Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, as well as the candidate and his family.

On Friday night, the campaign hosted a welcome dinner at Park City's Olympic park. Guests were ferried from their hotels by bus, up the mountainside, and treated to spectacular views and a cookout-style dinner where former New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu and former Secretary of State James Baker warmed up the crowd, and introduced Mitt and Ann Romney. The couple gave remarks and mingled with guests who were also entertained by Olympic ski-jumpers practicing their technique on the ramps and pools at the facility, which remains a training center for Olympic winter athletes.

Saturday's festivities began with a breakfast and included a strategy briefing from top campaign advisers. Among the highlights of the day, according to several donors who attended the event, was a lunchtime speech by former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who received not one but two standing ovations for a speech one attendee described as "exhilarating."

Rice along with Ryan and Jindal are among the names tossed about as part of the weekend's other major storyline: with few exceptions, nearly every Republican thought to be under consideration to become Romney's partner on the ticket is also attending this event in some capacity. Sens. Bob Portman, R-Ohio, and John Thune, R-S.D., are on the guest list, as are former Govs. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota and Jeb Bush of Florida, as well as the current Virginia governor, Bob McDonnell.

The Romney campaign has been tight-lipped about the vice presidential vetting process, with only Florida Sen. Marco Rubio confirmed to be receiving a "thorough vetting."

But Romney's adviser in charge of that process, his former Chief of Staff Beth Myers, has also traveled to Utah, along with most of the top figures of Romney's high command in Boston, fueling speculation -- even among the donors and campaign advisers here -- that this weekend away from the rigors of the campaign trail may also figure in to Romney's vice presidential selection process.

Saturday evening and Sunday the event will wrap up with dinner, desert and dancing, according to a leaked copy of the agenda, and with the opportunity to play golf on Sunday at a private course in the area -- all designed to foster camaraderie amongst those most involved in financing Romney's campaign, and to get them excited about November.

To hear the donors tell it, the strategy seems to be working.

"Things are looking pretty darn good," Young said.

Stan Honda / AFP - Getty Images

Senator Marco Rubio, R-Fla., speaks at the Council on Foreign Relations May 31, 2012 in New York.

HOLLAND, Mich. -- Mitt Romney on Tuesday called reports that his campaign was not vetting conservative rising star Marco Rubio for the vice presidential nomination "entirely false," and said his campaign is indeed vetting the Florida senator.

"Marco Rubio is being thoroughly vetted as part of our process," Romney told reporters in a hastily-organized statement to the media before a stop at an ice cream shop.

The Romney campaign has jealously guarded information about its vice presidential selection process, with Romney repeating a familiar refrain whenever questions about the number two spot on the ticket are asked: I've got nothing for ya.

Today's statement was the first time Romney or his campaign have officially confirmed that his campaign was vetting anyone.

Romney’s statement was a response to an ABC News report this morning that said “knowledgeable Republican sources" said Rubio was not being vetted. The ABC sources said Rubio was not being vetted and had not been asked to turn over financial disclosure documents or complete any questionnaire – steps traditionally part of the vetting process.

The report was a source of concern for the Romney campaign, as conservatives expressed shock at the idea that Rubio may not have been on Romney's short list at all, and prompting questions to the junior senator, to which he declined to comment.

This is the second time Romney has publicly defended Rubio. In October, he said a Washington Post story about Rubio's family was a "smear."

Today, Romney pushed back hard at the use of anonymous, outside sources to report on the VP selection process.

"There was a story that originated today, apparently at ABC, based on reports of supposedly outside, unnamed advisors of mine,” Romney said. “I can't imagine who such people are but I can tell you this: They know nothing about the vice presidential selection or evaluation process. There are only two people in this country who know who are being vetted and who are not, and that's Beth Myers and myself."

Referring to his former chief of staff, who is now heading his VP search, he said, "I know Beth well. She doesn't talk to anybody."

DALLAS, TX -- When Mitt Romney takes the stage in Fort Worth tomorrow, it will be at his first public event in the Lone Star State this campaign season, but far from his first visit to collect cash from Texas famously wealthy Republican donors.

Romney will spend two full days in Texas, where, in addition to tomorrow's only public event, he'll be raising money at a downtown Dallas mansion built In the 1800s, and on Wednesday along San Antonio's famous River Walk and in Houston, where Romney last stopped in Texas in March to collect the endorsement of former President George H. W. Bush and first lady Barbara Bush.

"People on both sides of the aisle treat Texas like an ATM, they come down and get their money and leave," one national republican campaign operative explained. The state's 38 electoral votes are safely in the Republican column, and both parties know it.

The governorship has been solidly Republican since George W. Bush replaced Ann Richards in 1995, and both senate seats are all but certain to remain in Republican hands after the November elections.

That hasn't stopped either Romney or President Barack Obama from spending valuable time wrangling donors here, with Romney raising $5.9 million dollars in Texas, and the Obama campaign pulling in $6.4 million through the end of April, according to FEC records. Texas Governor Rick Perry raised $10.7 million in his brief White House bid.

Some of the top donors to pro-Romney SuperPAC, Restore our Future, were also born, educated and made their millions here, including home-builder Bob Perry, who attended Baylor, and entrepreneur Harold Simmons, who attended the University of Texas.

While Romney raises millions in Texas, he'll be dealing delicately with the state's local politics and national political history.

Romney has conspicuously not endorsed a candidate in the state's multimillion dollar Republican senate primary runoff, set for July, between Lt. Governor David Dewhurst and the Tea Party-backed former Solicitor General Ted Cruz. Both men have powerful backers as the race has assumed an outsized image nationally. Governor Perry and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee back Dewhurst, and Sarah Palin and Rick Santorum have endorsed Cruz.

Romney's campaign has been silent on which candidate he believes would best replace retiring Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison.

Romney is not expected to be seen with the state's most famous politician, former President George W. Bush, who now lives in Dallas and is building his presidential library at Southern Methodist University. Sources close to the former president say he is unlikely to appear with Romney during his swing through Texas, and Romney's campaign has not returned multiple requests for comment as to whether Bush might show up at a closed-door fundraiser with the candidate.

Also not appearing with Romney: Governor Perry. After dropping out of the race in January, Perry backed Romney-rival Newt Gingrich for a time, before ultimately supporting Romney when the latter clinched the nomination. Perry will be in San Antonio when Romney campaigns in Fort Worth, and in Fort Worth when Romney raises money in San Antonio.

In Fort Worth, Perry will be speaking at the Texas GOP convention. Romney's campaign has not announced any plans for the governor to attend.