Obama to Romney: Come clean on Bain role

— -- President Barack Obama pressed Mitt Romney on Friday to address questions about when he left Bain Capital, calling the escalating political fight over Romney's role at the firm "a legitimate part of the campaign."

Obama's reelection campaign has accused Romney of misleading the country on when he severed ties to Bain. Romney has long said he left in 1999 to run the Salt Lake City Olympics, but news outlets have unearthed Securities and Exchange Commission documents suggesting he played a central role at the firm years afterward. The fight has played out against the backdrop of the Obama campaign's relentless attacks on Romney as someone who made a fortune while overseeing the flight of jobs overseas.

Is Romney being dishonest, WJLA reporter Scott Thuman asked Obama in an exclusive interview.

"As president of the United States, it's pretty clear to me that I'm responsible for folks who are working in the federal government and you know, Harry Truman said the buck stops with you," Obama said.

"My understanding is that Mr. Romney attested to the SEC, multiple times, that he was the chairman, CEO and president of Bain Capital and I think most Americans figure if you are the chairman, CEO and president of a company that you are responsible for what that company does," the president said. "Ultimately Mr. Romney, I think, is going to have to answer those questions, because if he aspires to being president one of the things you learn is, you are ultimately responsible for the conduct of your operations," he said. "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.