NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE — The U.S. Department of Justice has agreed to return Rep. Andy Ogles' phone and destroy all information obtained from the device and his Google account, ending an investigation that began with a seizure by FBI agents in August 2024. Ogles, a Tennessee Republican, had filed emergency motions nearly two years earlier asserting his protections under the Constitution's Speech or Debate Clause.

FBI agents seized the phone the day after Ogles won his 2024 Republican primary, as part of an investigation centered on a campaign finance report issue. Ogles has said he understands the FBI is investigating mistakes in his initial financial filings.

In those initial campaign finance filings, Ogles reported that he loaned his 2022 campaign around $320,000, but he later adjusted the report to remove the loan. The seizure of the phone in August 2024 came roughly two years after those 2022 campaign finance filings were submitted.

Ogles is represented by the law firm Litson LLC. According to the firm, the Justice Department's decision to return the phone and destroy the evidence obtained from it vindicates Ogles' argument that the Executive Branch had no right to review his communications.

"Today, the Justice Department has effectively acknowledged I was right. I'm grateful to the Trump Justice Department for righting this wrong and to my legal team for fighting for me every step of the way. Now I can get back to doing the work the people of Tennessee's 5th District sent me to Washington to do," Ogles said.