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Ogles Pays $5,750 Fine as Part of FEC Settlement
An FEC spokesperson confirmed to the Scene that U.S. Rep Andy Ogles paid a $5,750 civil penalty for multiple campaign finance violations committed during the 2021-2022 election cycle. After assessing Ogles’ campaign with multiple penalties for missing and late-filed reports, illegal contributions, and insufficient reporting documents, the commission agreed to the fine in early October.
The Ogles campaign blamed its compliance issues on “internal miscommunication,” according to the settlement terms that were made public. In addition to the fine, Ogles’ campaign has until January 2 to establish a specific tracking and reporting process with the FEC and must complete additional FEC training by October.An FEC audit conducted in March discovered more than ten campaign finance violations in Ogles’ 2022 campaign. The report details $90,000 in unreported receipts dating back to October 2022, as well as an undisclosed $50,000 transfer between political committees. The FEC letters also name former Ogles treasurer Lee Beaman and Thomas Datwyler, a Wisconsin-based compliance consultant who has been linked to numerous instances of shoddy bookkeeping for Republican candidates across the country.
Ogles, who was elected mayor of Maury County in 2018, earned a reputation among Tennessee’s far right by opposing COVID precautions and gun control. Ogles’ family posed with assault rifles for a Christmas card in 2021. Ogles won the Republican nomination for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District last year, defeating former Tennessee House Speaker Beth Harwell and retired National Guard Brig.Gen. Kurt Winstead, both of whom are seen as more moderate alternatives to Ogles. He easily defeated Democratic state Sen. Heidi Campbell for the seat in November 2022. Before state lawmakers divided Nashville into three congressional districts, the district included all of Davidson County and was represented by centrist Democrat Jim Cooper.Many of the professional and personal details shared by Ogles during his campaign were reported to be exaggerations and embellishments by NewsChannel5’s Phil Williams shortly after he was sworn in as a congressman, prompting comparisons between Ogles and now-ousted GOP Rep. George Santos.
