Rep. Ilhan Omar has hired two veteran Washington attorneys with extensive experience in politically sensitive investigations as federal authorities examine whether the Minnesota Democrat or members of her family made false statements on decades-old immigration records.
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Omar is being represented by Amy Jeffress and Joshua Matz, partners at the Washington law firm Hecker Fink who have previously represented prominent Democrats and participated in major legal battles involving President Donald Trump.
Jeffress became former President Joe Biden’s personal attorney in 2025, succeeding longtime Biden lawyer Bob Bauer, and represented the former president amid investigations involving his administration’s use of an autopen, the New York Post reported.
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She previously served as outside counsel to the House committee investigating the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack and represented former FBI attorney Lisa Page, whose anti-Trump text messages with former FBI agent Peter Strzok became a major controversy during the Russia investigation.
Matz served as counsel to the House Judiciary Committee during both Trump impeachment proceedings and later worked with the January 6 committee’s legal team.
He has also represented universities including Brown, Columbia and New York University in litigation involving the Trump administration, while his practice has focused heavily on constitutional disputes, government investigations and high-profile public-law cases.
Neither attorney primarily specializes in immigration law, although their backgrounds give Omar a legal team experienced in constitutional disputes, congressional investigations and confrontations with the federal government.
Their involvement comes after Homeland Security Investigations agents searched Omar’s Washington, D.C., residence on October 12 as part of a federal investigation examining her immigration history.
Agents seized Omar’s cellphone, passport, documents and other materials during the court-authorized search, while federal authorities have also issued more than a dozen grand jury subpoenas as part of the investigation.
The investigation is examining whether Omar or members of her family may have provided inaccurate information on immigration paperwork before she eventually became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2000.
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Reporting has indicated that investigators are examining questions involving Omar’s reported birth date and information concerning her late father’s background in Somalia.
The investigation has also renewed attention on longstanding allegations concerning Omar’s 2009 marriage to Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, including an unproven claim that Elmi was her brother and that the marriage was connected to immigration benefits.
Omar has repeatedly denied those allegations, and no court has determined that she entered into a fraudulent marriage or obtained American citizenship through fraud.
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A Justice Department filing connected to the investigation has separately identified the congresswoman as “Ilhan Nur Said Elmi, a/k/a Ilhan Abdullahi Omar,” although the filing did not explain the basis or significance of the alternate name.
Jeffress and Matz have already taken an aggressive posture toward federal prosecutors, sending the Justice Department a letter demanding the immediate return of property seized from Omar’s home.
The attorneys accused investigators of failing to follow restrictions imposed by the magistrate judge who authorized the search, including procedures designed to protect legislative material potentially covered by the Constitution’s Speech or Debate Clause.
They also argued that the investigation was politically motivated because Omar has been one of Trump’s most outspoken congressional opponents, while the Justice Department has rejected accusations that investigators violated the law or disregarded court orders.
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A Justice Department spokesperson said federal attorneys and law-enforcement officials complied with their legal obligations and court orders during the operation.
Omar’s lawyers have additionally cited the timing of the investigation, arguing that an overt search involving a congressional candidate shortly before the November 3 midterms conflicts with longstanding Justice Department practices intended to prevent investigative actions from influencing elections.
Federal officials have maintained that the search was approved by a judge and cleared through an internal Justice Department review process. Also of note, the initial investigation into Omar began during Biden’s term.
The current investigation has gone considerably further, however, with a judicially authorized search, seized evidence and grand jury subpoenas signaling an active federal inquiry.
This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.
