FBI Executed Search Warrant Against Tennessee Republican Compared to George Santos

The FBI reportedly raided the home of Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) last week amid an ongoing investigation into the Republican’s campaign finances. Local media confirmed the raid on Tuesday, which took place shortly after Ogles won the GOP primary to be on the ballot in November.

Nashville’s NewsChannel 5 reported that neither the congressman nor the FBI would comment on the raid, which comes “as the first-term Republican faces continuing scrutiny over fraudulent campaign financial reports that he filed.” The outlet added, however, that the “Execution of the search warrant came immediately after Ogles defeated Courtney Johnston in the Republican primary as he seeks a second term in the U.S. Congress. Department of Justice guidelines generally prohibit law enforcement from taking any overt actions in investigations of a political candidate in the 60 days before an election.”

In January, a nonpartisan watchdog group filed a complaint against Ogles. “The Campaign Legal Center (CLC) said Ogles failed to disclose a $320,000 personal loan to his campaign in 2022 and a $700,000 line of credit from a bank later that same year, claims first discovered by local investigative reporters in Tennessee,” the Hill reported at the time, adding:

The CLC compared the alleged violations to those of former Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.), who was expelled from Congress last month over allegations that he defrauded campaign donors and lied to constituents. He faces a bevy of criminal charges, including fraud, and has denied wrongdoing.

“The expulsion of Representative George Santos for filing false financial disclosure statements and other ethics violations demonstrates why investigations of significant discrepancies in a candidate’s financial reporting are warranted,” the CLC said at the time. “Unexplained inconsistencies in Rep. Ogles’ reported finances and allegations of misrepresenting his background raise fundamental questions for voters about the transparency of their elected representative.”

This is a developing story and has been updated.