FEC Fines Maxine Waters’ Campaign for Violations

Clear Facts

• Rep. Maxine Waters’ 2020 campaign was fined $68,000 by the FEC for multiple federal campaign finance violations.
• The campaign understated contributions and spending by hundreds of thousands of dollars and accepted $19,000 in excessive contributions.
• Waters’ campaign has agreed to pay the fine and send its treasurer to a training program for political committees.

California Democratic Representative Maxine Waters is facing repercussions after her 2020 congressional campaign was found to have violated federal campaign finance laws. The Federal Election Commission (FEC) has imposed a hefty fine of $68,000 on her campaign, Citizens for Waters, for understating contributions and expenditures by significant amounts.

The FEC’s investigation uncovered that Waters’ campaign accepted $19,000 in excessive contributions during the 2019 and 2020 election cycle. Additionally, the campaign made $7,000 in “prohibited cash disbursements” from a petty cash fund. In response to these findings, the campaign has agreed to pay the fine and will also send its treasurer to a commission-sponsored training program for political committees.

During the investigation, Waters’ attorney, Leilani Beaver, communicated with the FEC, acknowledging the errors made by the campaign. Beaver stated that the mistakes “were not willful or purposeful,” attributing them to “limited staff availability and resources during the pandemic.” The campaign has since amended its reports to correct these financial misstatements and has refunded or disgorged all excess contributions reflected in the FEC audit.

This is not the first time Waters has faced scrutiny over her financial dealings. In 2004, she arranged for her daughter to be paid over $1.2 million for work on her campaign, a move criticized as campaign finance malpractice. In another instance, the House Ethics Committee accused Waters in 2010 of violating conflict of interest rules, although the case was eventually dismissed.

Waters has also been a vocal critic of former President Donald Trump. In 2018, she urged her supporters to “create a crowd” around administration officials, suggesting they were “not welcome” in public places like restaurants and stores.

Despite these controversies, Waters continues to serve as a prominent figure in California politics. Her office has not responded to requests for comment regarding the recent FEC fine.

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