Thomas J. Jaworski, Member of the Firm in the Health Care & Life Sciences practice, in the firm’s Nashville office, was quoted in the Nashville Tennessean, in “Federal Prosecutors Withdraw from Andy Ogles Investigation Where FBI Seized Phone,” by Evan Mealins. (Read the full version – subscription required.)
Following is an excerpt:
The federal prosecutors in Middle Tennessee investigating U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles are backing off the case.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Tennessee filed motions in federal court on Thursday to withdraw from the criminal investigation of Ogles. The move comes months after the office obtained warrants to seize Ogles' cell phone and email account which were then executed by the FBI.
Ogles, R-Columbia, has stated he believes the investigation centered around his federal campaign finance filings. Ogles has not been charged with a crime in relation to the investigation.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Alistair Newbern approved the motions to withdraw on Friday, signaling the end of the office's involvement in the case. The U.S. Attorney's Office would not explain to The Tennessean why it chose to withdraw from the case.
It's not immediately clear what the move means for the future of the Ogles' investigation, but an attorney at the Department of Justice in Washington remains on the case for now.
Former Acting U.S. Attorney Tom Jaworski, who held the position from September to December and now works in private practice, said he thinks the case was likely dropped so the short-staffed office could focus on the Trump administration's priorities of violent crime and immigration issues.
Cases like the Ogles investigation "are just very intensive factual cases that just take a lot of time to develop," Jaworski said. "So this is a move to align the office with the President's priorities," Jaworski said.
Jaworski said it's "not uncommon" for the DOJ to investigate a case without the cooperation of the local U.S. attorney's office. Whether the DOJ also drops the case "all depends on the strength of the evidence and their resources," he said. "So I think a lot of that's going to shake out in the next few weeks."