Prosecutors Withdraw from Investigation Involving MAGA Rep. Andy Ogles After DOJ Confirmed Tennessean Not ‘Target’

Andy Ogles

Two federal prosecutors voluntarily withdrew from the investigation that involves Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05), a close ally of President Donald Trump who had his cellphone confiscated as he filed amended campaign reports to reflect that he only pledged to fund his campaign with a $300,000 cash injection, but did not transfer the money.

A legal filing reported last week revealed that Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert Levine and Christopher Suedekum were withdrawn by the Department of Justice (DOJ) from the legal case related to the warrant to obtain Ogles’ cell phone, which the FBI confiscated last year.

Rather than requesting U.S. District Judge Alistair Newbern approve replacements for Levine or Suedekum, the DOJ said an attorney with the DOJ’s Public Integrity Section would remain the sole prosecutor attached to the case.

Previous legal filings, obtained by The Tennessee Star in September 2024, showed that Ogles was not a “target” of the FBI but rather was a “subject” of an investigation that included the congressman’s cell phone.

The investigation has outlasted other officials at the DOJ, including former Henry C. Leventis, who was appointed the U.S. Attorney for Middle Tennessee by President Joe Biden and previously worked under former special prosecutor Jack Smith but resigned just one month prior to the 2024 elections. Acting U.S. Attorney Rob McGuire was appointed in late December, about two months after the departure of Leventis.

Information about the investigation was leaked to Tennessee media outlets last year when the FBI and DOJ refused to confirm Ogles’ phone was confiscated when asked by The Star in August. Local law enforcement said it was unaware of the FBI’s action in its jurisdiction.

Ogles is currently serving his second term in Congress after he was reelected last November, with the Trump-endorsed Republican first winning a primary contest against a heavily funded and well-connected opponent from the Metro Council.

Recently, Ogles introduced a congressional resolution that would amend the U.S. Constitution to allow Americans to serve three terms as U.S. president, so long as the first two are not consecutive, in a long-shot move that would specifically make Trump eligible to seek reelection in 2028.

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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Congressman Andy Ogles” by Congressman Andy Ogles. 

 

 

 

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