‘I would definitely ignore him’
Page A2From§Eachthe early evening edition — 5 September 2026
Mamdani calls 9/11 memorial 'not political,' then hands its ceremonial pen to an accused al-Qaeda terrorist's lawyer.
“The trick here is simple: the government spends a month expanding who counts as a terrorist, then a mayor gets called political for handing a pen to a lawyer who defends people on that same list. Mamdani says "remembrance, not politics," then does the single most political thing available in that building — hands the ceremonial pen to a man who represents the people the terrorism label gets aimed at. Watch the list, not the pen; that's where they decide who's next.”
“This is about respecting the families — thousands of them, we said so ourselves back in July. Well, CBS walked that number back in August, but the sentiment's real regardless. And representing someone accused of something doesn't make a lawyer sympathetic to it, everybody's entitled to a defense — did I just defend Kassem? That's not the point I was going for.”
The receipts
Last week, CBS News New York falsely reported that “thousands of 9/11 victims’ families are asking New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani not to attend this year’s solemn remembrance ceremony.” The article appeared to be based on misinformation promoted by the New York Post.
The 48-year-old Kassem, who founded a legal clinic at CUNY that offers free legal representation to Muslims, also defended Mahmoud Khalil, a leader of the pro-Palestinian encampment at Columbia who was detained by ICE.
· US Declares Palestine Action a ‘Terrorist Organisation’ from the morgue, 27 Aug 2026
· 9/11 memorial service should be about remembrance, not politics, Mamdani says from the morgue, 3 Sep 2026
· Biden to attend Ground Zero 9/11 memorial ceremony for 25th anniversary from the morgue, 3 Sep 2026
This page is a back-issue: the story as it ran, receipts as they were. The current edition is at the front.