Like George Santos, Fellow Republican Andy Ogles Also Accused of Lying About His Past
Like controversial Republican Congressman George Santos of New York, new Tennessee Congressman Andy Ogles was also accused of lying about his background.
An investigation by Tennessee's NewsChannel 5 claimed on Thursday that Ogles, another Republican lawmaker, has no formal training as an economist, despite repeatedly claiming to be one on the 2022 midterm campaign trail. The network alleged that Ogles seemed to embellish his resume with some very big claims.
Ogles reportedly claimed that he is a businessman, an economist, a nationally recognized expert in tax policy and health care, a trained police officer, and even an expert in international sex crimes. However, the investigation of the Nashville-based network found that the freshman Republican exaggerated his personal life story.
Ogles has repeatedly claimed to be an economist in various media interviews. His congressional bio noted that he got a degree from Middle Tennessee State University, "where he studied policy and economics."
However, the school refused to confirm if Ogles did obtain a degree. The network investigated further and discovered a claim on Ogles' website in 2002 that he "studied foreign policy and the constitution" at Western Kentucky University and Middle Tennessee State University. Economics was never mentioned.
The investigation also found through a background check and his 2009 resume that he majored in international relations and minored in psychology and English while at Middle Tennessee State University with no mention of economics.
The network reported that they had found little evidence that Ogles had received formal training in economics despite publicly commenting a few times that he was an economist.
READ NEXT: Top Republicans Plotting to Oust George Santos
House Republican Andy Ogles Says He Also Graduated From Vanderbilt and Dartmouth
NewsChannel 5 did more digging into the Tennessee representative's background and looked into his claims about doing graduate work at highly respected business schools at Vanderbilt and Dartmouth universities.
Specifically, Andy Ogles claimed to have gone to Vanderbilt University's Owen Graduate School of Management and Dartmouth College's Tuck School of Business. The local news network found that while he did go to these business schools, he only participated in non-degree classes.
It is reported that these classes are "designed to help people with their careers and to generate revenue for the universities." Experts have pointed out that taking these classes is different from how one would train to become an economist.
Andy Ogles' Claims About Being a Sex Crimes Expert Debunked by Tennessee Sherriff
MSNBC also did some digging of its own and looked into Andy Ogles' ties to law enforcement. While they found that he was a volunteer reserve deputy with the Williamson County Sheriff's Office, he was let go after failing to meet the minimum standards and not progressing on field training.
A spokesperson for the Williamson County sheriff's office also clarified that Ogles was not involved in fighting "international sex trafficking" while he was a reserve deputy. The investigations about Ogles' background came as more Republicans called on George Santos to resign over the "lies" he told voters.
READ MORE: George Santos Accused of Sexually Harassing Aide
This article is owned by Latin Post.
Written by: Rick Martin
WATCH: Ogles Declares Victory - From WKRN News 2