An article published by CNS News alleged that the Bernie Sanders campaign was fined $14,500 by the Federal Election Commission for “accepting illegal in-kind contributions during [the] 2016 campaign.” Facebook users questioned the article and flagged it for third-party fact checkers.
What’s the truth?
The Sanders campaign, Bernie 2016, agreed to pay a civil penalty from the FEC in early February. The FEC levied the fine in response to “illegal contributions” from the Australian Labor Party.
The ADL provided a stipend and airfare for several Australians who volunteered for the Bernie Sanders’ campaign.
Citing the Federal Election Act of 1971, which “prohibits any foreign national from making ‘a contribution or donation of money or other thing of value’ in connection with a federal, state or local election” the FEC fined both Bernie 2016 and the ADL $14,500 each.
Sanders’s campaign iterated to multiple outlets that while they did not agree with the FEC’s conclusion, they chose to pay the fine to put the issue to rest.
“In order to avoid a long and expensive fight with the FEC over the technical status of these young people, the campaign agreed to pay the FEC a small settlement but did not agree that it broke any rules,” the campaign told WMUR, a local New Hampshire station that was one of the first outlets to cover the story.
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