Image Credit: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout
***Note from The Tennessee Conservative – this article posted here for informational purposes only. Per The Tennessee Lookout’s Republishing Guidelines, this article has been edited for writing style & length.***
By Adam Friedman [Tennessee Lookout-CC BY-NC-ND 4.0] –
Shortly after his 2024 primary win, Columbia Republican U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles’ phone was seized by the federal government as part of an investigation into campaign finance violations.
Nearly two years later and after a party change in the White House, Ogles announced in a news release that his phone had been returned and that any materials taken from it had been destroyed.
The investigation into Ogles stemmed from his first election in 2022, when in a crowded Republican primary, he filed a campaign finance report stating he loaned his campaign $320,000.
Nearly two years later, he amended his campaign finance reports to acknowledge he had only loaned the campaign $20,000.
A U.S House Congressional Ethics panel recommended a further investigation of Ogles in January 2025 after a preliminary report found he might have violated federal campaign finance laws by inflating a personal loan to make his bid for office look stronger.
“There is substantial reason to believe that Rep. Ogles omitted or misrepresented required information in his finance disclosure statements or FEC candidate committee reports,” the House ethics board’s report says.
Ogles said after changing his campaign finance disclosures that the additional $300,000 was in a joint account he shared with his wife. Ogles and his campaign manager were unable to “definitively” confirm the source of the $20,000 to ethics board investigators.
The report also says Ogles had “significant control” over the campaign’s finances and that his treasurer and manager did not have access to the bank account and relied on him for the information. His treasurer told the ethics board that Ogles provided “misleading documentation” about the $320,000 loan.
The House Ethics panel is still investigating Ogles.
The U.S. Department of Justice investigation into Ogles was led by former Democrat President Joe Biden appointees. After President Donald Trump took office in January 2025, the leadership of the Department of Justice changed to Republican appointees.
Ogles has been a vocal backer of Trump, often praising the President’s actions on social media.
“From the day the FBI showed up, I said this investigation should never have happened and that the Biden DOJ had no right to rummage through a sitting congressman’s legislative communications,” said Ogles in a news release. “I’m grateful to the Trump Justice Department for righting this wrong.”
