Mamdani's chief counsel pick defended convicted Al Qaeda terrorist, Gaza activist Mahmoud Khalil

New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani announced that he has nominated Ramzi Kassem to serve as New York City’s chief counsel, a lawyer who has previously defended an Al Qaeda terrorist and Gaza activist Mahmoud Khalil.  

Mamdani, who is set to take office on the first day of the new year, announced the appointment of Kassem as the city’s top attorney. Kassem previously served as a senior policy adviser for immigration on the White House Domestic Policy Council during the Biden administration. 

His legal career has included numerous controversial cases. Kassem served as lead defense counsel for Al Qaeda terrorist Ahmed al-Darbi, who pleaded guilty in 2014 before a US military commission to conspiracy charges connected to a plot to bomb a French oil tanker off the coast of Yemen. The attack killed one civilian and injured several others. Al-Darbi was convicted in 2017 and transferred to Saudi Arabian custody in 2018. At the time of the transfer, Kassem said al-Darbi had suffered “injustice.” 

Earlier this year, Kassem also drew attention for representing anti-Israel activist and Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil. Khalil was arrested by ICE for allegedly participating in pro-Hamas demonstrations on campus. He has since been released, and his case remains ongoing. 

Announcing the appointment, Mamdani praised Kassem’s background and legal experience, saying he will turn to him for his “remarkable experience and his commitment to defending those too often abandoned by our legal system." 

"City Hall will be stronger with him in it, and our work of building a more prosperous city for all will have a powerful advocate,” Mamdani said. 

"My sincere hope is that New Yorkers who have long felt on the margins of this city, the homeless veteran straining to survive, the patient searching for the care that they need, an immigrant trying to get by will feel that they now have leaders in their corner who understand their struggles and care to fight for them," he continued, adding, "That is the city I want to build. The prosperity I intend to deliver and the leadership that has too long been lacking." 

Kassem described the role as a personal obligation to New York City. 

"I grew up in war-torn countries in the Middle East, authoritarian regimes, and New York City was really my first stable and permanent home," Kassem said. "This is an opportunity for me to repay that debt. I've been trying to repay that debt ever since I came to this country, ever since I immigrated."