WASHINGTON, April 19 (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc GS.N added aggressively to its political war chest in the months before it was charged with civil fraud, collecting a record sum for donations to 2010 election campaigns, according to government disclosure documents.

The Goldman Sachs Group Inc Political Action Committee, the Wall Street bank's vehicle for funding candidates for federal office, collected $1.28 million from its employees between January 1, 2009, and Feb. 28, 2010, the last date for which public records are currently available.

The 14-month total, taken from monthly disclosure reports filed with the Federal Election Commission, far exceeds the amounts the PAC either raised or spent during any of the last decade's full two-year election cycles, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan watchdog that tracks money in politics.

The numbers show Goldman's PAC activity in the months before the fraud charges surfaced. Sources have said the bank learned it was facing potential civil liability over its marketing of a subprime mortgage product six months before the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged the company with civil fraud.

Last week, the SEC accused Goldman Sachs of hiding from investors that a prominent hedge fund manager was betting against a subprime mortgage product that he helped create. Goldman has denied the charge.

Goldman spokeswoman Melissa Daly emphasized that the PAC's finances are not paid by the bank but by its workforce. "PAC donations ... are a reflection of our employees' right to participate in the political process," she said.

Goldman's PAC filings, which the Center for Responsive Politics summarizes on its website, www.opensecrets.org, also shows the PAC entering March with more cash on hand than it collected or spent during any election cycle dating back to 2000.

Goldman is due to file a new PAC disclosure report for the month of March on Tuesday.

PACs provide U.S. corporations with an avenue for contributing to the campaigns of individual political candidates under government rules enforced by the Federal Election Commission.

Goldman's PAC contributions currently favor Democrats over Republicans by a margin of 63 percent to 37 percent. In addition to candidates, the PAC has contributed to national party committees and other political action committees.