GOP Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee says FBI took his cellphone in campaign finance probe

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Republican U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee said Tuesday that the FBI confiscated his cellphone in an investigation into issues with his campaign finance reporting.

The first-term member of the conservative Freedom Caucus said on the social platform X that the FBI took his phone last Friday and he promised to fully cooperate with the agency, saying he already has done so with the Federal Election Commission.

Ogles had just defeated an opponent in a Republican primary election the day before, bolstered by an endorsement from former President Donald Trump.

Ogles said his understanding is that the FBI is investigating “mistakes in our initial financial filings” that have been “widely reported for months.” Among the discrepancies: Ogles had reported that he loaned his 2022 campaign $320,000, but in recent months adjusted the report to remove the loan.

“I am confident all involved will conclude that the reporting discrepancies were based on honest mistakes, and nothing more,” Ogles said in the post.

Ogles also was the subject of a January ethics complaint by the nonprofit Campaign Legal Center over his personal and campaign finances, in which the group compared him to expelled GOP U.S. Rep. George Santos of New York.

The complaint highlights that Ogles reported making a $320,000 loan to his campaign committee in 2022. However, the complaint states that “Rep. Ogles’ financial disclosure reports do not disclose assets that would allow him to make this loan. Rep. Ogles’ assets do not include any bank accounts.”

The complaint continues that even if Ogles had made the loan with money from liabilities, there is no public record supporting that option.

“The discrepancies in Rep. Ogles’ financial disclosures statements do not have any obvious explanations on the public record, and he should provide answers to the public,” the complaint says.

Ogles later amended his filings in May to show that he only loaned his campaign $20,000, telling news outlets that he originally meant to “pledge” $320,000 to use toward his campaign but that pledge was mistakenly included in his campaign reports.

“The financial disclosure laws exist because voters have a right to know their elected officials’ potential conflicts of interest,” said Kedric Payne, senior director of ethics at CLC, in a statement. “We urge a swift and transparent investigation for the sake of the voters in Tennessee’s 5th district.”

An FBI spokesperson said that under Justice Department policy, it could not confirm nor deny an investigation, and referred questions to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee. An official with the U.S. attorney’s office declined to comment.

Last Thursday, Ogles defeated a well-funded Republican opponent, Nashville Metro Councilmember Courtney Johnston, by 12 percentage points, despite her description of Ogles as a “do-nothing grandstander” who is “mired in scandals.”

In January 2023, Ogles was among the Republican holdouts in Kevin McCarthy’s prolonged speakership nomination, voting against him 11 times before switching to support him. When McCarthy was ousted in October, Ogles voted against removing him.

Later, Ogles ultimately replied that he was “mistaken” when he said he graduated with an international relations degree after a local news outlet raised questions over whether he had embellished his resume.

Ogles faces Democrat Maryam Abolfazli in the November election.

“The FBI’s execution of a search warrant and confiscation of Andy Ogles’ cell phone is deeply upsetting, especially given an ongoing pattern of misappropriated funds and falsehoods regarding his education and work history,” Abolfazli said in a statement Tuesday. “Congressman Ogles continues to bring scandal and embarrassment to the 5th (District) and he needs to go.”

Ogles won the seat in 2022 after Republicans redrew the state’s congressional districts to their advantage after the last census, splitting the heavily Democratic Nashville area into three seats and forcing Nashville’s then-Democratic congressman, Jim Cooper, into retirement.

Since his election, Ogles has been a vocal critic of President Joe Biden’s administration and last year filed articles to impeach Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. He filed new articles to impeach Harris after she became the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination following Biden’s exit from the 2024 race.

Ogles is a former mayor of Maury County, two counties south of Nashville.

___

Alanna Durkin Richer in Washington contributed to this report.