Update: The Jones campaign said Monday it would return $2,700 in excess contributions to O'Donnell.

Original story:

Rosie O'Donnell donated $2,700 over the legal limit to then-Alabama Senate candidate Doug Jones' campaign in 2017 - part of a pattern of the comedian going beyond the $2,700 limit to candidates across the country, the New York Post reported.

Federal Election Commission rules bar individuals from donating more than $2,700 apiece in primaries and general elections per candidate.

O'Donnell gave two donations - one for $2,700 and another for $2,700 -to Jones that she earmarked for the 2017 special election, according to FEC records.

In an interview with the Post, O'Donnell said she was unaware of the law. She said she assumed ActBlue, the Democratic fundraising platform she used to donate to Jones and other Democratic candidates, would not have allowed her to donate more than the limit.

"If 2700 is the cut off -- [candidates] should refund the money," she wrote to the paper. "I don't look to see who I can donate most to ... I just donate assuming they do not accept what is over the limit."

A Post review of O'Donnell's contributions found that she gave a combined $5,700 over the FEC limits across five candidates.

"My anxiety is quelled by donating to those opposing trump [and] his agenda -- especially at night -- when most of these were placed," O'Donnell said.

Jones, whose race was closely watched across the country, received the lion's share of O'Donnell's contributions.

While the comedian regularly gave over the limit contributions, a campaign finance expert who spoke to the Post said it was unlikely that either she or the candidates would be penalized, even though both she and the candidates are responsible according to FEC rules. The Post said it could not reach Jones' office.

"Donors are rarely fined for excess contributions and then only if they are hiding the donations from the recipients," D.C. campaign finance lawyer Jan Witold Baran told the paper. "Campaigns generally are not penalized for isolated contributions over a limit. However, multiple excessive donations may lead to an investigation ... Fines could result in such cases."

The Post reported the FEC usually allows candidates to set aside the excess contributions for future races or return the money to donors.