DOJ agreed to return Rep. Ogles' cellphone, law firm says

WASHINGTON - The Justice Department has agreed to return the cellphone of Rep. Andy Ogles, according to a law firm representing him, after a lengthy dispute in which the Tennessee Republican said he believed the FBI was investigating past campaign finance filings.

The law firm Litson in a press release Tuesday, said the federal investigation "centered on a campaign finance reporting issue" and the Justice Department had also agreed to destroy all information it obtained from the lawmaker's phone and Google account.

The legal dispute traces back to 2024, when a court approved search warrants for Ogles' cellphone and his Google account, according to court filings. The FBI seized Ogles' cellphone in August that year.

During a congressional race in 2022, Ogles' campaign filed a report that said Ogles personally loaned his own campaign $320,000, according to an Office of Congressional Ethics report. But in 2024, according to the report, an attorney for Ogles reported only $20,000 had actually been transferred.

Ogles has not been indicted or charged related to that issue. A court filing Tuesday from Ogles' legal team is the clearest sign federal prosecutors could be backing off the investigation.

"In discussions with the Office of the Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division of the United States Department of Justice, the Government has advised defense counsel that it will promptly return or destroy the property and information obtained pursuant to the respective search warrants at issue," the filing stated.

Ogles' legal team has long objected to the seizure, saying Ogles' phone and email account held a large amount of legislative material that was protected from disclosure under the Constitution's Speech or Debate Clause.

In particular, the contents had communications "reflecting legislative acts of the most sensitive character," including a confidential debate among lawmakers about who should lead as House speaker, the motion argued.

In October 2024, both sides reported that the Justice Department agreed that it would not review the contents of the cellphone or Google account until a judge ruled on Ogles' "motions for a return of property." But that ruling never came.

Ogles took a victory lap on Tuesday and said he was grateful to the Trump Justice Department "for righting this wrong."

"This is a complete win for the responsible exercise of prosecutorial discretion and respect for the Constitution's Separation of Powers," Ogles said in a statement.

"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. Today the Justice Department has effectively acknowledged I was right," Ogles said.

The episode is all but sure to fuel speculation that the Justice Department has once again given lenient treatment toward another ally of the Trump administration. Ogles, a Trump supporter, is a member of the House, where Republicans only have a thin majority.

Under the Trump administration, the Justice Department has shown leniency to administration allies and pursued criminal cases against perceived enemies.

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This story was originally published May 6, 2026 at 5:37 PM.