Alina Habba, who has used her job as New Jersey’s top federal prosecutor to aggressively target Democrats, is pursuing an investigation into remarks made by Gov. Philip D. Murphy about housing a migrant, according to three people with knowledge of the matter.
Mr. Murphy said in February that he was prepared to house a woman whose immigration status was unclear at his family’s home in Middletown. F.B.I. agents have since sought to interview at least four witnesses in connection with the comments, two of the people said, with one adding that the governor had been subpoenaed but not questioned.
Ms. Habba, the interim U.S. attorney in New Jersey, is a former personal lawyer for President Trump. She previously announced that she was directing prosecutors in her office to investigate the governor and New Jersey’s attorney general, Matthew J. Platkin, in connection with the state’s immigration policies.
Two of the people with knowledge of the investigation involving Mr. Murphy’s comments indicated that it was separate from any Justice Department inquiry related to New Jersey’s so-called sanctuary policy, which has been upheld by a federal appeals court. There has been no public sign of that inquiry moving forward.
Mr. Murphy is one of at least four Democratic officials to become entangled in investigations pursued by Ms. Habba since she was named to the position in late March.
Mr. Murphy made the remarks during a freewheeling discussion at a New Jersey college, telling an audience there that there was a person in his social orbit “whose immigration status is not yet at the point that they are trying to get it to.”
“And we said, ‘You know what? Let’s have her live at our house above our garage,’” he said. “And good luck to the feds coming in to try to get her.”
The comments set off an immediate outcry. Mr. Trump’s so-called border czar, Thomas Homan, pledged at the time that the administration would not let them go.
“We’ll look into it,” he said.
An aide to Mr. Murphy later clarified that the woman was in the United States legally and had never lived on Mr. Murphy’s property.
The governor’s office declined to comment on the federal inquiry on Friday. A spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney’s office also declined to comment.
A person close to Mr. Murphy said the governor was not aware of any pending investigation against him.
Mr. Trump recently nominated Ms. Habba to remain in the job permanently when her time as interim U.S. attorney ends later this month. She would need to be confirmed by the Senate, and New Jersey’s two Democratic senators have been critical of her performance. In a joint statement, the senators, Cory Booker and Andy Kim, said she had “degraded the office and pursued frivolous and politically motivated prosecutions.”
It was unclear whether they would seek to block her nomination.
Ms. Habba had no history as a prosecutor before getting the job, and she has used the traditionally nonpartisan position to pursue several high-profile investigations into Democrats. She is one of several of Mr. Trump’s former defense lawyers to serve in top Justice Department positions, and given her role as the face of federal law enforcement in New Jersey, her actions have drawn particularly fierce scrutiny.
Less than two months into her tenure, Ms. Habba charged Ras Baraka, the mayor of Newark, and Representative LaMonica McIver, after the two Democratic officials clashed with federal immigration agents outside a detention center near Newark Liberty International Airport. Ms. Habba moved to drop the trespassing charge her office had filed against Mr. Baraka, who is now suing her for malicious prosecution.
The day she was named interim U.S. attorney, Ms. Habba spoke critically of Mr. Murphy while at the White House. She said that there was corruption, injustice and significant crime “right under Governor Murphy, and that will stop.”
More recently, Ms. Habba has adopted a friendlier stance.
On Wednesday, she appeared with the governor at MetLife stadium for a FIFA Club World Cup soccer match, a precursor to the World Cup matches scheduled to take place in New Jersey next summer. The two posed for pictures that Ms. Habba posted on social media.
“Together — across parties, across sectors — we must be committed to keeping our state safe,” she wrote.
Tracey Tully is a reporter for The Times who covers New Jersey, where she has lived for more than 20 years.
Jonah E. Bromwich covers criminal justice in the New York region for The Times. He is focused on political influence and its effect on the rule of law in the area’s federal and state courts.
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