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.

<bsp-list-loadmore data-module="" class=«PageListStandardB» data-gtm-region=«RELATED COVERAGE» data-gtm-topic=«No Value» data-show-loadmore=«true»