KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Republican U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee said Tuesday that the Federal Bureau of Investigation confiscated his phone as part of a campaign finance investigation.
He said he promised to fully cooperate with the FBI and said he has already complied with the Federal Election Commission. Ogles recently defeated an opponent in a Republican primary election.
According to The Associated Press, Ogles said his understanding is that the FBI is investigating "mistakes in our initial financial filings." In those filings, Ogles reported that he loaned his 2022 campaign around $320,000, but had adjusted the report in recent months to remove the loan.
"Hopefully a resolution can come. But if no resolution is found early enough, or if there are more questions to ask, yeah — it becomes a problem for him," said Mark O'Gorman, a political science professor at Maryville College. "It might be an honest mistake and it might be something. So, certainly, that's where the FBI investigation is."
O'Gorman said by executing search warrants, the FBI may suspect a pattern from past expenditures that may be a "red flag." He said it's vital for candidates to keep track of campaign finances to make sure they follow the rules.
Ogles faces Democrat Maryam Abolfazli in the November election, and O'Gorman said the investigation could impact his chances of winning.
"If you're a voter in that district, you'll just probably want to know what's going on with this. If you're his opponent, you certainly are gonna push that hard on the campaign trail," he said.
O'Gorman said over the past 30 years, the amount of money that goes into campaign financing has tripled — and so has the importance of following it.