Omar Says She Does Not Know Grounds for Federal Probes

Rep. Ilhan Omar said she had received most of the items seized from her Washington home and had not been told the specific grounds for federal investigations, during an exchange with a reporter on Capitol Hill on November 11. She also said she was unsure whether the Department of Homeland Security and the Justice Department were conducting separate investigations.

Asked whether federal authorities had explained what she was being investigated for, Omar said they had not. When asked if the agencies were pursuing separate probes, she replied that she was not sure and said the reporter probably had more details. Reports of the exchange trace back to a single recorded interview.

Federal agents searched Omar’s Washington home on October 12 under a warrant. Reports say they seized electronic devices and other items, including her cellphone and passport; one account also reported that a computer and a DNA sample were taken. Omar said most of the seized items had been returned. The search and the items seized have been described in reporting, but the warrant and an inventory were not included in the accounts of her remarks.

The reports describe two investigative tracks. Homeland Security...