Rep. Andy Ogles' proposal allowing Trump a third term is seen as a political stunt. However, it raises questions about Ogles' motives given his ongoing federal criminal investigation into his finances. The congressman's financial disclosures have been questioned, and he faces an ethics investigation. The FBI previously seized his phone and email as part of the probe. Could Ogles be attempting to curry favor with Trump in hopes of leniency?
When Republican Rep. Andy Ogle s unveiled a proposal last week to allow Donald Trump to run for a third term, it was a rather obvious partisan stunt. There was, however, a nagging question hanging over the Tennessee congressman’s motivations. After all, Ogles isn’t just another far-right member of Congress (of which there are many). He’s also the subject of an ongoing federal criminal investigation.
Indeed, it was roughly five months ago when the GOP lawmaker publicly disclosed that the FBI had seized his cellphone and personal email as part of an apparent probe into his finances. In other words, it was possible that Ogles introduced an absurd proposal to empower Trump to run again in 2028 because of his affection for the president, knowing full well it will never become law. But it was also possible that he was trying to flatter Trump and get his attention amid an investigation that might lead to a criminal indictment. Just eight days after Ogles unveiled his measure, it appears there’s some news out of Tennessee. WTVF, the CBS affiliate in Nashville, reported: Let’s pause to review how we arrived at this point. Ogles was already a scandal-plagued congressman when WTVF reported in late 2023 that the congressman’s financial reports showed he had made a $320,000 personal loan to his 2022 campaign. That might not have been especially problematic — candidates often make such loans — were it not for the fact that Ogles’ financial disclosures suggested he didn’t have $320,000. Months later, the Republican effectively conceded that his earlier claims weren’t true. He said he’d actually loaned his campaign $20,000, not $320,000, though it remained an open question as to who or what provided Ogles with the rest of the money. This has become the subject of an intensifying congressional ethics investigation, but perhaps more alarming to the congressman, federal law enforcement took an interest in the matter, too. The investigation was ongoing when there was a dispute between Ogles’ lawyers and the U.S. attorney’s office over access to evidence on his phone. That matter ended up in court, but before it could be fully adjudicated, federal prosecutors withdrew from the case, raising questions about whether the investigation will continue as Trump and his team take control of federal law enforcement. Of course, if the investigation does collapse, there will be no shortage of questions about how much partisan politics might've played a role. We’ll learn soon enough what becomes of the Ogles controversy, but it’s worth emphasizing that the president has already demonstrated an unnerving affection for Republican members of Congress who have been accused of corruption. In his first term, Trump pardoned two former GOP lawmakers who’d already been convicted, and this week, he celebrated the demise of the case against a different former Republican congressman who’d been found guilty by a jury. This post updates our related earlier coverage
DONALD TRUMP THIRD TERM REPUBLICAN PARTY CONGRESS CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION FINANCIAL DISCLOSURES ETHICS INVESTIGATION ANDY OGLE
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