Maxine Waters' campaign fined thousands of dollars for violating federal finance laws

Democratic California Rep. Maxine Waters' congressional campaign was recently fined thousands of dollars for violating several federal campaign finance laws during her 2020 reelection bid.

Waters' attorney, Leilani Beaver, admitted last year that the congresswoman's campaign made errors in reporting its finances, but that the errors had not been intentional and were the result of limited staffing and resources during the pandemic. 

A Federal Election Commission (FEC) investigation found that Waters' campaign received $19,000 in excessive contributions in 2019 and 2020, and made $7,000 worth of “prohibited cash disbursements” from a petty cash fund in the same period.

The campaign has now been fined $68,000 for the errors, per the Daily Caller, which it has agreed to pay, along with sending its "treasurer to a commission-sponsored training program for political committees."

The campaign has also “refunded or disgorged all excess contributions" that were reflected in an FEC audit. 

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.