The attorneys for the Afghan legal permanent resident are members of the Federal Defender's Office out of DC.
Posted by The Lawfare Podcast, Checked
- Sources
- 3 support2 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 60%
The Lawfare PodcastSep 14, 2026
Multiple sources confirm that Nazira Haji Zada's lawyers were federal public defenders: CNN names Matthew Farley as a federal public defender, DW names Farley and Mary Manning Petras as her public defenders, and the DOJ release says her lawyers were two federal public defenders.
Our two reads of who says this, and how, disagree, so it counts as the post's own claim.
What was said
… She conceded both of those points and basically agreed for the government to allow her to be deported back to Afghanistan. Um, now, two things are a little bit remarkable. A month ago, when the case first started, her attorneys, who both are members of the Federal Defender's Office out of DC, they both made a huge point of saying, you know, the ATRC, the government has all of this power to keep everything classified and confidential. …
The Lawfare Podcast · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. CNN identifies Matthew Farley as a federal public defender appointed to represent Haji Zada in the Alien Terrorist Removal Court.[3]
Supports. DW reports that Haji Zada's public defenders were Matthew Farley and Mary Manning Petras, who said the case should not be seen as an endorsement of the court's legitimacy.[4]
Supports. The DOJ press release states that the government provided Zada and her lawyers, two federal public defenders, with access to classified information.[2]
Context. No source states the office location of the federal public defenders as Washington, DC; the DC detail is neither confirmed nor contradicted. Zada lived in Fort Worth, Texas, and the case was heard before a Minnesota-based chief judge.[1][5]
Sources
5 sources: 1 fact-checker, 1 primary, 2 tier 2, 1 not rated
- 1Afghan woman deported from US in first use of secretive ...reuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 2Department of Justice Removes Alien Terrorist in First Use of ...justice.gov · primary source · cited for: supports
- 3Woman in first Alien Terrorist Removal Court case mounts constitution…cnn.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports
- 4Forgotten US court of 'secrecy' could mean more deportationsdw.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 5'Alien Terrorist Removal Court,' created in 1996, holds first- ...nbcnews.com · tier 2 · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
- The Alien Terrorist Removal Court judge ordered the Afghan legal permanent resident to be deported to Afghanistan.True
- An Afghan legal permanent resident was deported less than 2 months after a case was filed in the Alien Terrorist Removal Court.True
- The government alleged that the Afghan legal permanent resident planned to relocate to Afghanistan with her family while her son and son-in-law carried out a mass attack in November 2024.True
- An Afghan legal permanent resident conceded that she was an honest citizen and that she supported ISIS.Mixed
- The removal order for the Afghan legal permanent resident was issued on August 20, 2026, or several days after that.True