Mitch McConnell’s campaign fined for breaking finance rules

The political campaign committee of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has agreed to pay a fine for almost $100,000 in campaign contributions – over federal limits – and failing to refund them to donors in the time period mandated by the Federal Election Commission.

A report from the FEC released Friday said McConnell Senate Committee received the excess money during the 2019-2020 campaign cycle.

In a negotiated settlement, McConnell Senate Committee and Treasurer Larry J. Steinberg agreed to pay a fine of $7,225 and to have a representative of the campaign participate in an FEC training program.

Campaign contributions are limited to $2,800 from an individual or $5,000 from a multi-candidate political committee. Contributions that exceed the limits are supposed to be refunded — or redesignated to a different campaign cycle — within 60 days.

The settlement document said McConnell Senate Committee had $97,262.48 in 2019-20 that hadn’t been refunded or redesignated properly.

An FEC document stamped “SENSITIVE” from Feb. 8, 2023, said McConnell still had $8,595 from 2020 that hadn’t been refunded or redesignated.

In multiple communications with the FEC since 2020, McConnell Senate Committee noted the refund or redesignation status of each of numerous contributions.

“The (McConnell Senate) Committee states that its external compliance vendor has instituted policies and measures to identify and resolve excessive contributions,” the FEC settlement document says.

An earlier communication to the FEC from McConnell Senate Committee said it “will be working with an updated software product for this current election cycle, which will mitigate many of the issues.”