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.
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