US Rep. Andy Ogles falsely claimed $320,000 campaign loan, instead calls money a 'pledge'

U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles admitted this week that his campaign falsely reported a personal loan of $320,000 to the Federal Election Commission, according to campaign finance updates filed Wednesday.

In nearly 11 new amendments to filings that date back to April 2022, the freshman congressman eliminated mention of $300,000 he said he personally loaned his campaign over the last two years. Ogles now reports he loaned his campaign $20,000 during the 2022 primary, according filings made Wednesday by campaign treasurer Thomas Datwyler.

Ogles, R-Columbia, is seeking reelection this year. According to his most recent amended disclosure reports, he has $95,349 on hand, down from the $448,592 he reported a month ago ― with less than three months to go before the Aug. 1 primary.

In a statement released by Ogles’ campaign on Thursday, Ogles said the funds previously disclosed as a loan to the FEC were instead a “pledge” to self-fund, if needed — and that need never arose.

“At the beginning of the 2022 campaign cycle, I pledged $320,000 to use toward my own campaign efforts if needed,” Ogles said in the statement.

He said the amendments were made “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," he said in the statement, adding that the pledge included several documented assets including bank and retirement accounts.

“I’m not a wealthy man who can self-fund the millions of dollars needed to run a congressional campaign,” Ogles said. “I am a grassroots representative, and I pledged everything I own to run for the honor of representing Tennessee’s Fifth Congressional District.”

“While we ultimately needed to transfer $20,000, unfortunately, the full amount of my pledge was mistakenly included on my campaign’s FEC reports,” he said.

Courtney Johnston, the Nashville Metro Council member challenging Ogles in the Republican primary this year, slammed Ogles over the campaign finance issue.

“Andy Ogles lied and got caught,” Johnston said. “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 said.

Democrat Maryam Abolfazli also criticized Ogles’ move in a social media post Wednesday. Abolfazli is unopposed in the Democratic primary.

“You've got to be living in a different reality to think you can say you have $300,000 and then come back later and say you don't,” Abolfazli wrote. “It reminds me of the new extremist GOP in general: like dictators, they believe the law is simply a tool to manipulate for their own personal gain.”

This update is not the first discrepancy in Ogles’ campaign finance filings. Ogles is currently facing an ethics complaint filed by the Campaign Legal Center in January requesting an investigation into discrepancies in the congressman's financial disclosures, including the personal loan of $320,000.

In 2022, Ogles’ claimed to have raised more than $450,000 during the first 30 days of his campaign. Disclosures filed later showed he’d brought in $264,400.

In the past, Ogles has also received public criticism for how he described his educational background, including misstating the degree he received from Middle Tennessee State University.

Ogles was endorsed for reelection months ago by former President Donald Trump, and stood alongside him at the courthouse where Trump's criminal trial is taking place last week.

According to FEC filings, Ogles’ campaign treasurer is Thomas Datwyler, of Hudson, Wisconsin.  Datwyler is listed on Federal Election Commission filings as treasurer for several U.S. Senate and Congressional campaigns and PACs, including U.S. Rep. Diana Harshbarger, R-Kingsport.

Datwyler's LinkedIn profile shows his employment at 9Seven Consulting, a political consulting and FEC compliance firm. Datwyler made national headlines last year after former U.S. Rep. George Santos' campaign indicated Datwyler was its treasurer, even though Datwyler reportedly turned down the job.

Ogles hired Datwyler in late 2022 to replace Nashville auto magnate Lee Beaman, who is still listed as campaign treasurer on his website. While serving as Ogles’ treasurer in 2022, Beaman made a separate donation to an independent political action committee which then spent nearly an identical sum in independent expenditures supporting Ogles. Ogles repeatedly declined to comment at the time. Federal law prohibits coordination between campaigns and independent PACs.

Vivian Jones covers state government and politics for The Tennessean. Reach her at vjones@tennessean.com or on X at @Vivian_E_Jones. 

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: US Rep. Andy Ogles falsely claimed $320,000 campaign loan, FEC filings show