Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation reportedly executed a search warrant on far-right freshman U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) late last week.
Details are sparse but Nashville's WTVF reports Congressman Ogles "faces continuing scrutiny over fraudulent campaign financial reports that he filed, NewsChannel 5 has confirmed."
The Associated Press adds Ogles says the FBI took his cell phone.
"Back in May, Ogles filed a series of amended campaign financial reports, admitting he had not personally loaned his campaign $320,000 as he had reported back in 2022," WTVF reports. "Other amendments to his campaign financial reports resulted in Ogles retracting claims regarding thousands of dollars in campaign contributions and expenditures that he had previously reported to the Federal Election Commission."
In January the watchdog group Campaign Legal Center alleged, "Rep. Ogles’ financial disclosure reports appear to include over $1 million in financial discrepancies, including his failure to report assets he purportedly used to personally loan his campaign committee $320,000 and a $700,000 line of credit."
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Then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy appointed Ogles, a member of the far-right Freedom Caucus, to the House Financial Services Committee. Ogles had falsely claimed to be an economist, despite having little financial experience and no actual degree in economics.
NewsChannel 5's award-winning reporter Phil Williams on Tuesday noted that Ogles, "doesn't report having checking or savings," and asked, "So where did Andy Ogles get $320,000 for his campaign?"
"If you believe Middle Tennessee's newest congressman," WTVF reported in 2023, "he's not only a businessman, he's also an economist, a nationally recognized expert in tax policy and health care, a trained police officer, even an expert in international sex crimes. But an exclusive NewsChannel 5 investigation discovered that Andy Ogles' personal life story is filled with exaggerations, a story that's often too good to be true."
While running for office in 2022 Ogles responded to the U.S. Supreme Court striking down the 49-year old landmark decision that found abortion is a constitutional right. Justice Clarence Thomas, in his concurring opinion, had called for a review of all laws that were based on the established right to privacy.
“The next thing we need to do is go after gay marriage," Ogles declared, WKRN reported. "We need to revert that back to the states, so each and every state can decide her destiny.”
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Ogles's Democratic opponent posted video of his remarks.
Once elected, Rep. Ogles filed legislation to ban any federal Dept. of Education funds to be used for drag queen performances, and to ban any federal funds from being used to create any forms that extend gender identification beyond male and female. In his press release, Ogles stated he was introducing "two bills that fight back against the radical agenda of the LBGT movement and protect children in schools."
He included in his press release a statement from a member of an anti-LGBTQ hate group.
In February, The Tennessean reported Ogles had come under fire for telling "a Palestinian activist he thinks 'we should kill them all' after she confronted him about the deaths of children in Gaza amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, though Ogles' office said he referred specifically to Hamas."
Tennessee Democratic state Rep. Gloria Johnson, a member of the "Tennessee Three" who is running to unseat Republican U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn, noted, "Interestingly, a lawyer with deep ties to Marsha Blackburn and Russian government assets is representing Ogles."
That claim was also made by The Tennessee Holler.
Rep. Johnson also responded to the news of Congressman Ogles's search warrant by comparing him to disgraced and expelled former House Republican George Santos.
"Uhoh, looks like Tennessee Santos is about to go through some things."
Watch the video at this link.
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