Republican Representative Andy Ogles claimed that a $320,000 personal loan listed in his campaign filings was a mistake, after activist groups compared the congressman to disgraced politician George Santos.
Questions about Ogles' financial filings were first raised when local news outlet WTVF discovered that the congressman did not list any savings or investments on his personal financial disclosures - even as he claimed to loan hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Updated financial disclosures contain 11 amendments indicating that he only loaned $20,000 to his campaign, not $320,000.
"I am a grassroots representative and I pledged everything I own to run for the honor of representing Tennessee's Fifth Congressional District. That $320,000 pledge comprised several documented assets including bank and retirement accounts which I was willing to personally risk for the chance to fight for Middle Tennessee," Ogles wrote on Thursday afternoon.
"While we only needed to transfer $20,000, unfortunately, the full amount of my pledge was mistakenly included on my campaign's [Federal Elections Commission] reports."
— Congressman Andy Ogles (@AndyOgles) May 23, 2024
Ogles claimed that he worked with attorneys and FEC reporting experts to correctly amend his campaign documents.
In the aftermath of the original news investigation, the Campaign Legal Center filed a complaint with the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE), drawing comparisons to ousted New York Representative George Santos.
"The expulsion of Representative George Santos for filing false financial disclosure statements and other ethics violations demonstrates why investigations of significant discrepancies in a candidate's financial reporting are warranted," the complaint read.
"Unexplained inconsistencies in Rep. Ogles' reported finances and allegations of him misrepresenting his background raise fundamental questions for voters about the transparency of their elected representative. The public has a right to know the sources of money that may be used to influence a federal election, as well as potential conflicts of interest that may arise due to a member's financial obligations."
In addition to the discrepancies between his personal assets and his campaign loans, Ogles also failed to report a $700,000 line of credit, according to the Campaign Legal Center.
Ogles is a member of the House Freedom Caucus and a staunch supporter of former President Donald Trump. Earlier this month he introduced a bill in the House that would send "any person convicted of unlawful activity" on a college campus to Gaza for six months. He was also one of nearly a dozen lawmakers who sat in a Manhattan courtroom last week, supporting the former president during his hush money trial.
