President Obama demurred when asked by an Ohio reporter if his Justice Department should file criminal charges against Mitt Romney, pursuant to his campaign’s suggestion that the Republican candidate had committed “a felony” by misrepresenting his relationship to Bain Capital after 1999.

John Kosich of WEWS-ABC asked Obama if Romney should get a call from federal investigators. “If his name was on SEC filings yet he says he was not in charge, does that elevate to a felony? Should the Justice Department be looking at this?” Kosich asked.

Obama didn’t answer, directly. “I think that the issue here is simply for Mr. Romney to talk about his business background in a way that jives with the facts,” Obama replied.

Kosich’s question was based on a conference call that deputy campaign manager Stephanie Cutter held last week. “Either Mitt Romney, through his own words and his own signature was misrepresenting his position at Bain to the SEC, which is a felony, or he was misrepresenting his position at Bain to the American people to avoid responsibility for some of the consequences of his investments,” Cutter told reporters.

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