GOP Lawmaker Responds After FBI Raids His Home

A Republican lawmaker has responded after FBI agents conducted a surprising raid on his home this week.

Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee is facing allegations of falsifying campaign reports shortly after his victory over Courtney Johnston in the Republican primary.

“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 stated on social media, adding that agents had seized his cellphone.

“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. 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,” he continued.

Local media reported that an FBI spokesperson declined to comment on the situation, directing inquiries about Ogles to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee.

“Law enforcement sources in Maury County, where Ogles’ home is located, were not notified about any searches, although one source was told that the FBI had executed a search warrant somewhere in the county in recent days,” NewsChannel 5 reported.

The search warrant was carried out 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 typically discourage law enforcement from taking overt actions in investigations involving political candidates within 60 days of an election.

The outlet also noted:

Back in May, Ogles filed a series of amended campaign financial reports, acknowledging that he had not personally loaned his campaign $320,000 as he had previously reported in 2022.

Additional amendments to his campaign financial reports led to Ogles retracting claims about thousands of dollars in campaign contributions and expenditures that he had initially reported to the Federal Election Commission.

This development came after a NewsChannel 5 Investigates report questioned whether Ogles had the financial means to make the $320,000 personal loan he had reported. Despite disclosing the loan, Ogles’ personal financial statements showed no significant investments or even a savings account.

Following these revelations, the Campaign Legal Center, a watchdog group, filed a complaint with the Office of Congressional Ethics, comparing Ogles’ actions to those of former New York Congressman George Santos.

Santos, who represented New York’s 3rd Congressional District, was expelled from Congress in December and is currently facing criminal charges for allegedly falsifying personal loans to his campaign to qualify for additional contributions.

In a special election held in February, Democrats aggressively campaigned to win the seat. Republicans Mazi Pilip, a lower-profile legislator from Nassau County, and former Representative Tom Suozzi, a well-known Democrat who previously represented the district before running for governor in 2022, were closely matched in the race, but Suozzi ultimately won the seat, further narrowing the already slim Republican majority.

The House voted 311 to 114, surpassing the two-thirds majority needed to expel the indicted Republican from office months earlier.

House Ethics Committee Chairman Michael Guest (R-Miss.) introduced the expulsion bill after his committee released a report that found “significant evidence” of Santos’ criminal wrongdoing, according to Politico.

As the vote concluded, the New York Republican remarked to reporters: “It’s over. They have just established a harmful new standard for themselves.”