Zohran Mamdani Considers Controversial Lawyer for Top City Hall Role

� Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani is considering Ramzi Kassem for a senior City Hall position.

� Kassem previously helped defend Ahmed al-Darbi, an al-Qaeda member convicted over the 2002 bombing of a French oil tanker off Yemen.

� He also defended Mahmoud Khalil, a Syrian-born pro-Palestinian activist linked to the Columbia University encampment who was detained by ICE and later released by a judge.

� Kassem is a CUNY law professor and a member of Mamdani�s transition team, and is the leading candidate for corporation counsel.