FEC also confused why a Ted Cruz super PAC is donating to Carly Fiorina

Republican presidential hopeful Ted Cruz speaks during the prime time Republican presidential primary debate on August 6, 2015 at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. AFP PHOTO/MANDEL NGAN)

Long before Carly Fiorina was this month’s “it” candidate, a super PAC backing Ted Cruz was hedging its bets on her.

People were left scratching their heads in July when Keep the Promise 1, one of a conglomerate of super PACs funded by deep-pocketed Cruz supporters (the others are cleverly named Keep the Promise PAC, Keep the Promise II and Keep the Promise III; don’t strain yourself, guys), revealed in its financial disclosures a $500,000 donation to Fiorina’s campaign.

Keep the Promise 1 had a healthy $10 million on hand from a $11 million donation from hedge fund CEO Robert Mercer as of the end of June. But it only spent $536,169. A little for legal services. A little for surveys. And a whole lot for Fiorina.

Even the Federal Election Commission is perplexed. The super PAC was (purposely?) vague about the donation, describing it on its FEC filing as “other disbursement.”

So, the FEC, as it does, sent a letter Wednesday asking for “a brief statement or description of why each disbursement was made.”

Something like: Well, just in case…

The donation to Fiorina was made June 18, which shows tremendous foresight. Fiorina was barely registering then, not yet revealed as the scrappy underdog with killer debate skills. And Donald Trump had yet to steal most of Cruz’s disenchanted voters.

The super PAC’s treasurer Jacquelyn James did not respond to our request for comment. Maybe the FEC will have better luck.

Did Mercer have trouble keeping his own promise? Cruz should have made him pinky swear.