U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) submitted a total of 11 amended campaign filings with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) on Thursday. The new details provided by Ogles reveal his campaign originally misstated its cash-on-hand in June 2022 by more than $290,000.
Ogles’ 11 amended reports are for reporting periods between April 1, 2022 and March 31, 2024. The first amended filing, which includes the $290,000 discrepancy, covers the period when Ogles previously reported a $320,000 personal loan to his campaign.
The amended reports seem to show the Republican did not loan his political campaign $320,000 as The Tennessee Star and other outlets, referencing Ogles’ earlier FEC filings, reported in 2022, but instead actually loaned his campaign just $20,000.
Both the original filing and the amended filing show Ogles loaned his campaign the money, either $320,000 or $20,000, on April 15, 2022.
The Ogles campaign was late when it originally filed its 2022 campaign filing for the period ending June 30 on July 23. In that filing, Ogles claimed to have $508,798.61 on hand, but the amended filing from Wednesday shows Ogles actually had $216,205.61 in the bank.
The difference between the initial and amended reports for cash-on-hand as of June 30, 2022 is $292,593.
“At the beginning of the 2022 campaign cycle, I pledged $320,000 to use toward my own campaign efforts if needed. I’m not a wealthy man who can self-fund the millions of dollars needed to run a congressional campaign. I am a grassroots representative, and I pledged everything I own to run for the honor of representing Tennessee’s Fifth Congressional District,” Ogles said in a statement released to The Star on Thursday morning.”
“That $320,000 pledge comprised several documented assets, including bank and retirement accounts, which I was ready to personally risk for the chance to fight for Middle Tennessee. While we only needed to transfer $20,000, unfortunately, the full amount of my pledge was mistakenly included on my campaign’s FEC reports,” Ogles continued.
“The amendments we filed yesterday were done in consultation with attorneys and FEC reporting experts to begin the process of ensuring my FEC reports and Financial Disclosures accurately reflect the circumstances of my original pledge. I look forward to continuing to work with all relevant entities to ensure these minor reporting errors are rectified. I will always be a representative of the people, and I will never stop fighting to champion their conservative cause,” Ogles concluded in his statement.
Ogles is currently seeking a second term in the U.S. House and is being challenged in the Republican primary by Metro Nashville Councilwoman Courtney Johnston, who has claimed her opponent is an ineffective conservative in Congress.
Johnston responded to Ogles’ amended filings in a statement on Thursday, declaring, “Andy Ogles lied to the federal government and got caught. Normal folks get in big trouble for lying to the feds about money, but Andy is a politician who thinks he deserves a free pass and two more years of a taxpayer salary. If Andy Ogles is willing to lie about his own money, what won’t he lie about?” She added, “Voters in Middle Tennessee deserve a Member of Congress they can trust. That’s why I’m running.”
The Republican challenger to Ogles took weeks to add policy positions to her campaign website, and while she has stressed her conservative credentials, Johnston previously voted with other Metro Councilmembers to set an official Transgender Day of Remembrance for Nashville in 2023. Johnston also urged Governor Bill Lee to call a special session to establish new gun laws in 2022.
A previously amended filing for the period ending June 30, 2011 submitted by Ogles’ campaign in January 2023, showed the $320,000 loan from Ogles to the campaign, indicated the Republican had $516,205.61 cash on hand by June 30, 2022.
The amended filing for the same reporting cycle submitted by Ogles’ treasurer on Wednesday shows his campaign had exactly $300,000 less on hand that the previous amended report, with a total of $216,205.61 in the bank.
Ogles’ personal loan to the campaign was previously noted after the Ogles campaign released a press statement specifically claiming it had “raised” $453,000 in May 2022.
While the amended reports submitted Wednesday show Ogles reported the $20,000 loan from his personal finances to his campaign was due on December 31, 2022, it outstanding in Ogles’ most recently filed report for the end of that year, and remained outstanding in Ogles’ amended filing for the reporting cycle ending on March 31, 2024.
Ogles was listed as the campaign treasurer for his original, June 2022 campaign filing with the FEC. Subsequent amended filings, including those filed Wednesday, are signed by Ogles campaign treasurer Thomas Datwyler.
A LinkedIn profile for Datwyler indicates he has been a Campaign Finance Treasurer for 9Seven Consulting since August 2013. That company was acquired by Axiom Strategies on September 7, 2022, with founder Jeff Roe stating he was “thrilled” about the purchase.
Previous reporting by The Star reveals Ogles had already retained Roe and Axiom for his 2022 campaign by July 29, 2022.
News of Ogles’ latest amended campaign filings was initially broken by Phil Williams at NewsChannel 5, whose Wednesday report did not provide links to any of Ogles’ latest FEC reports.
While it is uncertain whether Ogles will face legal repercussions for the changes reflected in his amended reports, it seems likely the FEC may levy fines or otherwise punish Ogles for the misreporting of his campaign finances.
The Republican previously drew ire from the FEC after his 2002 campaign for U.S. House, with the commission ultimately fining Ogles $2,700 in 2003 for his failure to file a year-end report. Ogles paid the fine.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
