Ogles Lied About Loaning His Own Campaign $320,000. According to Mother Jones, "The trouble started after the congressman’s own financial disclosures strongly suggested he wasn’t wealthy enough to have loaned his campaign so much. In May 2024, Ogles bowed to the pressure by admitting in amended Federal Election Commission filings that the loan did not exist and that his campaign had never received the $320,000 from him or anyone else." [Mother Jones, April 2025]
The Non-Partisan Campaign Legal Center Filed A Complaint With The FEC, Which Triggered A House Ethics Committee Investigation, After Ogles Falsely Reported Loaning His Campaign $320,000 In 2022. According to WTVF, "U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles faces yet another official complaint that accuses him of engaging in an ‘overarching effort’ to hide how he raised and spent money for his two campaigns for Congress. That latest complaint — filed with the Federal Election Commission by the non-partisan Campaign Legal Center in Washington, D.C. — focuses on the Maury County Republican’s false claims to have personally loaned $320,000 to his campaign in 2022, as well as numerous other discrepancies recently uncovered by NewsChannel 5 Investigates. […] As a result, the Campaign Legal Center filed a complaint with the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE), which has since triggered the investigation by the House Ethics Committee." [WTVF, 4/23/25]
Ogles Admitted To Only Loaning His Campaign $20,000. According to WTVF, "On May 15, 2024, Ogles admitted that he had only loaned his campaign $20,000. That acknowledgement came ‘just hours before the OCE was scheduled to interview Ogles' campaign manager and treasurer,’ the newly filed FEC complaint notes. During the OCE investigation, Ogles' campaign manager and campaign treasurer admitted that they never had access to Ogles' campaign accounts and that they just reported whatever the candidate and congressman told them to report." [WTVF, 4/23/25]
The Office Of Congressional Ethics Report Recommended A Full Ethics Committee Investigation Into Ogles’ Campaign Finance Problems. According to Axios, "An independent federal agency recommends the House Ethics Committee open a full-scale investigation into U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles over discrepancies in his campaign finance disclosures. Ogles refused to cooperate with the federal review of his finances, according to a new report. […] The Office of Congressional Ethics released its report this week, recommending a full Ethics Committee investigation. The OCE report concluded there is ‘substantial reason to believe that Rep. Ogles omitted or misrepresented required information’ on his financial disclosures." [Axios, 1/2/25]
The Congressional Ethics Investigation Found Ogles Had “Omitted Or Misrepresented Required Information” And “May Have Violated Federal Law.” According to Mother Jones, "While congressional ethics investigators released a report in early January that found Ogles had ‘omitted or misrepresented required information’ in filings and ‘may have violated federal law,’ the brief was the last public step government prosecutors made in the case before Trump took office." [Mother Jones, April 2025]
The Office Of Congressional Ethics Report Found That Ogles May Have “Intentionally Misrepresented The Amount Of Money He Loaned To His Campaign” In Order To Create “The Appearance That His Campaign Had More Money Than It Did.” According to WTVF, "The final report from the Office of Congressional Ethics, released by the House Ethics Committee in January, concludes that Ogles ‘may have intentionally misrepresented the amount of money he loaned to his campaign’ in order to create ‘the appearance that his campaign had more money than it did.’" [WTVF, 4/23/25]
Ogles Claimed The Loan Was A Reporting Error, And His Campaign Manager Blamed A Computer Glitch, Then Claimed They Would Amend The Report. According to WTVF, "Ogles has previously downplayed the false loan report as a reporting error, while his campaign manager blamed the more recent discrepancies on a computer glitch. Following those recent questions, the campaign manager said Ogles would amend his campaign reports to correct the mistakes — a move that has not occurred." [WTVF, 4/23/25]
Ogles Refused To Give His Campaign Treasurer Access To His Bank Records In 2022. According to Mother Jones, "Ogles’ campaign treasurer, Thomas Datwyler, later explained to Office of Congressional Ethics investigators that a fake loan could still inflate the campaign’s war chest to ‘scare away the competition and buy the primary.’ (Datwyler was also listed on FEC filings as the treasurer for Santos, who pleaded guilty in 2024 to submitting fake loan information to the FEC to inflate his campaign’s financial position.) Datwyler noted that Ogles had repeatedly refused to provide him bank records during the 2022 campaign. ‘I work with two dozen congressmen, five senators; he’s the only one that I don’t have access,’ he said." [Mother Jones, April 2025]
HEADLINE: "Tennessee Congressman Andy Ogles Stalls FBI Investigation With Behind-The-Scenes Court Battle" [WTVF, 1/8/25]
HEADLINE: “Ethics Office Suggests Full-Scale House Ethics Investigation Into Rep. Andy Ogles” [Axios, 1/2/25]
HEADLINE: “Federal Prosecutors Withdraw From Andy Ogles Investigation Where FBI Seized Phone” [Tennessean, 1/31/25]
8/2/24: The Day After Ogles Won The Republican Primary For TN-05, The FBI Seized His Phone Using A Search Warrant. According to the Tennessean, "Court filings state FBI agents executed the search warrant and took Ogles' phone on Aug. 2, 2024, the day after he won the Republican primary for his Congressional seat." [Tennessean, 1/31/25]
As Of June 2025, The FBI Investigation Into Ogles Was Considered Ongoing After Ogles’ Legal Team Filed An Emergency Motion To Block The FBI From Looking In His Phone. According to WTVF, "In Ogles’ case, the FBI investigation appears to be focused on questions about how he handled money from his own congressional campaigns. Last July, the FBI used a search warrant to seize Ogles' personal email account, according to court documents. A month later, they seized his personal cell phone. Ogles' legal team filed an emergency motion to keep the FBI from looking at that evidence, arguing that agents — as part of the Executive Branch — should not be able to look at any evidence that might include matters relating to his congressional business. […] Again, we asked Hannafan, ‘Based on what's in the public record, what can we conclude about the state of the investigation?’ ‘It's ongoing,’ he said. ‘Until the Department of Justice, until the attorneys from the Public Integrity Section state that they are not pursuing charges, it should be considered ongoing.’" [WTVF, 6/11/25]
1/30/25: Federal Prosecutors Filed A Motion To Withdraw From The Ogles Investigation And An Attorney With The Justice Department Public Integrity Unit In DC Took Over. According to Nashville Banner, "On Jan. 30, 2025, federal prosecutors Robert Levine and Christopher Suedekum filed a motion to withdraw from the Ogles investigation. John Taddei, an attorney with the Department of Justice public integrity unit in D.C., took over as lead prosecutor. Newbern’s most recent legal action in the case was to grant that motion on Jan. 31, 2025. Now, her retirement looms in just more than two months." [Nashville Banner, 10/24/25]
The Judge Overseeing The Ogles Case Retired In January 2026. According to Nashville Banner, "The FBI and U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles are still awaiting a ruling from Magistrate Judge Alistair Newbern on whether the bureau can execute a search warrant on Ogles’ phone and Gmail account. The last filing in the docket was a withdrawal of federal prosecutors from the case on Jan. 31. Newbern’s pending retirement on Jan. 2, 2026, means that the clock is ticking." [Nashville Banner, 10/24/25]
The FEC Fined Ogles $5,750 For Campaign Finance Violations Committed During The 2021-2022 Campaign Cycle, Including Late-Filed Reports, Illegal Contributions, And Missing Documents. According to the Nashville Scene, "U.S. Rep Andy Ogles has paid a $5,750 civil penalty for multiple campaign finance violations incurred during the 2021-2022 election cycle, an FEC spokesperson confirmed to the Scene. The commission agreed to the fine in early October after assessing Ogles’ campaign with multiple penalties for missing and late-filed reports, illegal contributions and insufficient reporting documents." [Nashville Scene, 12/7/23]
The FEC Audit Of Ogles’ Campaign Found Ten Violations, Including $90,000 In Unreported Receipts And A $50,000 Undisclosed Transfer With Political Committees. According to the Nashville Scene, "An FEC audit from March found more than 10 campaign finance violations from Ogles’ 2022 campaign. The report details $90,000 in unreported receipts from October 2022 and an undisclosed $50,000 transfer between political committees. Letters from the FEC also name former Ogles treasurer Lee Beaman and Thomas Datwyler, a Wisconsin-based compliance consultant associated with multiple instances of shoddy bookkeeping for Republican candidates across the country." [Nashville Scene, 12/7/23]
Ogles Announced A $453,000 Campaign Finance Haul In The First 30 Days Of His Campaign, But His Receipts Showed He Only Brought In $264,000. According to the Tennessee Lookout, "Months after announcing he raised $453,000 in the first 30 days of his 5th Congressional District campaign, Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles filed a late report showing he brought in only $264,400. Ogles was already beset by a TV ad claiming he failed to pay property taxes when he turned in his filing a week late with figures that didn’t jibe with an initial campaign press release in May. In the late report, the former state director for Americans for Prosperity Tennessee showed $584,000 in total receipts but only $264,402 in total contributions, nearly $200,000 less than he claimed to have raised two months ago. Contributors included Ben Cunningham, leader of Tennessee Tax Revolt, former Nashville car dealer Lee Beaman and conservative economist Arthur Laffer." [Tennessee Lookout, 7/26/22]