Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) declared that his phone was seized by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as part of an ongoing investigation into his campaign filings.
Ogles confirmed the situation on X, explaining that his phone was taken a day after he won the primary for Tennesee’s 5th Congressional District.
“It has been widely reported for months that my campaign made mistakes in our initial financial filings. We have worked diligently with attorneys and reporting experts to correct the errors and ensure compliance going forward,” Ogles wrote.
“Last Friday, the FBI took possession of my cell phone. It is my understanding that they are investigating the same well-known facts surrounding these filings,” he continued. “I will of course fully cooperate with them, just as I have with the Federal Election Commission. I am confident all involved will conclude that the reporting discrepancies were based on honest mistakes, and nothing more.”
The financial filings surrounding the matter pertain to a $320,000 loan that Ogles reportedly made to the campaign. The number was later amended to $20,000.
The Campaign Legal Center filed a complaint with the Congressional Ethics Office in January, saying Ogles failed to disclose the “assets that he purportedly used to personally loan $320,000 to his campaign committee in April 2022.” The complaint added that Ogles “did not report a $700,000 line of credit that he apparently opened in September 2022, according to bank records.”
Ogles released a statement over the financial filings in May. “I’m not a wealthy man who can self-fund the millions of dollars needed to run a congressional campaign,” he said. “I am a grassroots representative, and I pledged everything I own to run for the honor of representing Tennessee’s Fifth Congressional District.”
“That $320,000 pledge comprised several documented assets, including bank and retirement accounts, which I was ready to personally risk for the change to fight for Middle Tennessee,” the statement continued. “While we only needed to transfer $20,000, unfortunately, the full amount of my pledge was mistakenly included on my campaign’s FEC reports. The amendments we filed yesterday were done in consultation with attorneys and FEC reporting experts to begin the process of ensuring my FEC reports and Financial Disclosures accurately reflect the circumstances of my original pledge.”
Ogles asserted that he will “always be a representative of the people, and I will never stop fighting to champion their conservative cause.”
Ogles has recently been behind efforts to file impeachment articles against Vice President Kamala Harris, rescind subpoenas issued by the January 6 Committee, and prohibit judges from issuing gag orders to defendants.
