NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The Office of Congressional Ethics is recommending a deeper look into Tennessee Congressman Rep. Andy Ogles' campaign finances after they came under scrutiny when he claimed to have personally loaned $320,000 to his campaign in 2022.
"The Board recommends that the Committee further review the above allegation concerning Rep. Ogles because there is substantial reason to believe that Rep. Ogles’s campaign committee accepted excessive contributions reported as personal loans and contributions from the candidate," the ethics board wrote Thursday.
All of this follows a NewsChannel 5 investigation in November 2023 that raised questions about Ogles' claims of that personal loan during his first run for the 5th District Congressional seat. Ogles' personal financial disclosures did not reflect the ability to loan his campaign such a large amount.
In May 2024, Ogles amended his campaign financial reports, admitting that he had only loaned the campaign $20,000.
After the FBI executed a search warrant at his home, the Republican congressman amended his personal financial disclosures filed with the U.S. House of Representatives.
For the first time in disclosures submitted in the fall, Ogles acknowledged the $700,000 line of credit discovered by NewsChannel 5 Investigates. Property records show the loan with FirstBank was taken out in 2022 with the Maury County Republican's in-laws co-signing.
In addition, Ogles disclosed a bank account with First Horizon Bank with assets in a broad category of $50,001-$100,000.
"The Board recommends that the Committee further review the above allegation concerning Rep. Ogles because there is substantial reason to believe that Rep. Ogles omitted or misrepresented required information in his financial disclosure statements or FEC candidate committee reports," the ethics board wrote.
You can read the full report by tapping here.
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Do you have more information about this story? You can email newsroom@newschannel5.com.
This story by Aaron Cantrell reminds me of my first school in Dyersburg, TN. I was a student at Bruce School from Kindergarten to second grade until the school system was integrated. My parents graduated from this K-12 school in 1960 in one of the city's African American communities. After sitting empty for several years, part of the school was demolished while the rest was renovated and now serves as a community center for the Bruce community in Dyersburg. A local pastor is now trying to do something similar in the Cemetery community in Rutherford Co.
-Lelan Statom
