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Louise Thomas

Editor

FBI agents raided the home of Republican congressman Andy Ogles and seized his cellphone last week as part of an investigation into potential campaign finance and ethics violations.

In a post on X post, the representative for Tennessee’s 5th congressional district, confirmed that a search was executed on his home on Friday, following reports that his campaign had “made mistakes” in its “initial financial filings.”

Local news site NewsChannel 5 previously reported discrepancies in Ogles’s campaign financial disclosure forms, prompting the lawmaker to later admit he had not personally loaned his campaign $320,000 as he initially reported in 2022.

He later amended his disclosure forms and confirmed he transferred only $20,000 to his campaign, including the $320,000 figure as a mistake.

Following the raid on his home, the 53-year-old claimed in an X post that his campaign has been working with the Federal Election Commission to correct the mistakes and be more compliant, but that he will “of course fully cooperate” with the FBI in its investigation.

“I am confident all involved will conclude that the reporting discrepancies were based on honest mistakes, and nothing more,” he wrote.

Questions regarding the Republican’s finances began after his election in 2022.

In Februay last year, NewsChannel5 reported that the Republican lawmaker does not have a degree in economics as previously claimed, but rather in international relations with minors in psychology and English from Middle Tennessee State University.

Ogles is currently seeking reelection having easily won the Republican primary on August 1, after being endorsed by former president Donald Trump.

The Republican lawmaker has twice filed articles of impeachment against Vice President Kamala Harris – the second time coming just two days after she announced her presidential campaign run.

Ogles claimed that Harris had “demonstrated extraordinary incompetence in the execution of her duties and responsibilities, a stark refusal to uphold the existing immigration laws, and a palpable indifference to people of the United States suffering as a result of the ongoing southern border crisis in the United States.”

His first attempt in June 2023, co-sponsored by Colorado representative Lauren Boebert, failed to pass through the House Judiciary Committee.

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