Bernie Sanders’ 2016 campaign has paid the Federal Election Commission a $14,500 civil penalty for improperly accepting Australian volunteers whose expenses and stipends were funded by the Australian Labor Party. Federal election law does not permit “any foreign national from donating anything of value in U.S. elections.” According to a statement from Bernie 2016, campaign workers managing the seven Australian volunteers didn't believe the stipend disqualified them. The campaign maintains it did nothing wrong, but agreed to settle the complaint to avoid “an expensive fight.”
