‘A new era’: Zohran Mamdani appoints al Qaeda detainee’s lawyer Ramzi Kassem as NYC chief counsel - who is he?

New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday announced the appointment of lawyer Ramzi Kassem as New York City’s chief counsel, the city’s top legal position.

Kassem, whose past legal work includes representing Ahmed al-Darbi in an al–Qaeda–related terrorism case, will assume the role when Mamdani takes office on January 1.


"Welcome to A New Era, Ramzi Kassem! Ramzi Kassem joins the administration from the City University of New York School of Law, where he co-founded and now co-directs CLEAR (Creating Law Enforcement Accountability & Responsibility), which has been on the front lines of providing legal defense for students detained by ICE and supporting many more at risk. Kassem also served under President Joe Biden as Senior Policy Advisor. Kassem is an immigrant and now proud resident of Harlem," Mamdani said through a post on X, announcing Kassem's appointment.

Kassem thanked Mamdani for the appointment, describing it as a "call of duty to serve the city that I've called home, the city that embraced me."

Who is Ramzi Kassem?

Kassem previously served as lead counsel for Ahmed al-Darbi, who in 2014 pleaded guilty before a US military commission to conspiracy linked to an al Qaeda plot to bomb the French oil tanker MV Limburg off the coast of Yemen.

The attack killed one civilian and injured several others. Al-Darbi was convicted in 2017 and, in 2018, was transferred to Saudi Arabian custody under the Trump administration, as cited by Fox News.

Kassem has also served as a senior policy adviser on immigration at the White House Domestic Policy Council during the Biden administration.

In 2025, Kassem represented Columbia University student and anti-Israel activist Mahmoud Khalil, who was arrested by ICE over his alleged role in leading antisemitic protests on campus. Khalil has since been released, although his legal case remains ongoing.

Most recently, he served as an administrator at the City University of New York School of Law, where he was involved with the Creating Law Enforcement Accountability & Responsibility project, representing immigrants detained by the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.