Have you heard about the Republican representative accused of an embellished biography?
No, not George Santos, who lied about graduating from Baruch, working on Wall Street and lending his campaign hundreds of thousands of dollars.
No, not Anna Paulina Luna, whose friends and extended family dispute her accounts of past traumas, including an alleged “home invasion” and an impoverished childhood.
No, the one who, according to a local television station, falsely claimed to be “an economist, a nationally recognized expert in tax policy and health care, a trained police officer, even an expert in international sex crimes.”
The life-spanning scale of the Republican freshmen’s alleged fabrications — especially Santos’ and Ogles’ — are nearly unprecedented.
That would be Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., who in recent weeks became the third of the 40 members in the House GOP’s freshman class to face questions about their biographies. Nashville’s WTVF has uncovered multiple misrepresentations from Ogles that rival the better known fabrications of Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y. On several occasions, including his first hearing on the House Financial Services Committee, Ogles referred to himself as an economist, even though he had no academic or job training in the discipline. His closest claim to expertise was working as a lobbyist and staffer for two conservative groups, though there’s no evidence he produced any economic research.
Both on the campaign trail and in office, Ogles also referred to past work in law enforcement combating “human trafficking.” According to WTVF, though, his law enforcement career consisted of just over two years as a volunteer reserve deputy with the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office — a position he lost for failing to meet minimum attendance and training requirements. As for the human trafficking portion, that had nothing to do with his deputy position, but a separate job with a nonprofit called Abolition International….
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