John Bellinger
American lawyer, former State Department Legal Adviser and Arnold & Porter partner who, according to leaked documents, advised the Israeli government on US foreign-agent law
| John B. Bellinger III
| |
|---|---|
| Image |  Council on Foreign Relations photograph |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Lawyer; partner, Arnold & Porter; adjunct senior fellow, Council on Foreign Relations |
| Known for | Legal Adviser of the US Department of State, 2005–2009 |
| Education | Princeton University (AB 1982); Harvard Law School (JD 1986); University of Virginia (MA 1991) |
John B. Bellinger III is an American lawyer. He is a partner at Arnold & Porter in Washington, DC, where he "advises sovereign governments and companies on a variety of international law and U.S. national security law issues". He is also adjunct senior fellow for international and national security law at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR).[1] From 2005 to 2009 he was Legal Adviser of the US State Department under Condoleezza Rice.[1]
According to leaked Israeli Ministry of Justice documents published by Distributed Denial of Secrets, Bellinger and colleagues at Arnold & Porter advised the Israeli government in 2021 on litigation and on the US Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). That advice included a review of the renewed contract of the Israeli-government-funded advocacy company Concert.[2] The documents have not been independently verified.
Government career
According to his CFR biography, Bellinger served from 2001 to 2005 as "senior associate counsel to the president and legal advisor to the National Security Council" in the George W. Bush White House. Before his confirmation as State Department Legal Adviser, he "managed Secretary Rice's Senate confirmation and codirected her State Department transition team".[1] As Legal Adviser he led US delegations in treaty negotiations. He represented the United States before the International Court of Justice in Mexico v. United States of America (Medellín) and before the Iran–US Claims Tribunal.[1] He is one of four US members of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.[1]
Work for the Israeli government
According to the leaked Ministry of Justice documents, which were released by a group calling itself Anonymous for Justice and filed by DDoSecrets in its "Cyberwar" category:[2]
- In January 2018 the Ministry of Strategic Affairs rated Arnold & Porter, represented by Amy Jeffress, second of three US firms considered for FARA advice. The ministry instead hired Sandler Reiff.[3]
- On 19 July 2021, during press coverage of the NSO Group's Pegasus spyware, Bellinger wrote to the Ministry of Justice: "we cannot advise you on what to say to the US press without potentially having to register under FARA. Our activities on your behalf have been limited to litigation and other legal advice, which does not require registration."[4]
- On 1–3 December 2021, officials of the Ministry of Justice (Marlene Mazel) and the Foreign Ministry (David Goldfarb) wrote to Bellinger, Jeffress and Kaitlin Konkel. They asked the firm to review a draft government decision renewing the advocacy project and "the new contract between Israel and the PBC (named 'Concert')". They wrote that "insofar as funding may be relayed to organizations situated in the US, there is an interest in not running afoul of FARA legislation and regulations". The material they sent included the earlier Sandler Reiff memo. Bellinger estimated the work at $8,000–12,000, and the Israeli side accepted.[5]
The renewed project became Voices of Israel; see Kela Shlomo for its origins.
Commentary
Bellinger writes on international and national security law. His op-eds have appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post and Wall Street Journal.[1] In December 2023 CFR hosted him in a discussion titled "The Laws of Armed Conflict and Ethics in the Israel-Hamas War".[1]
See also
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Council on Foreign Relations, John B. Bellinger III cfr.org, accessed 21 October 2026. CFR-side.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Distributed Denial of Secrets, Israel Ministry of Justice ddosecrets.org, 25 July 2024, accessed 21 October 2026. DDoSecrets lists the dataset in its "Cyberwar" category, warning of "an increased chance of malware, ulterior motives and altered or implanted data".
- ↑ Israel Ministry of Justice leak (Distributed Denial of Secrets), Ministry of Strategic Affairs revised exemption request (form T-93) to engage a US law firm on FARA, updated 24 January 2018 (Hebrew), Library of Leaks entity 9397718 Library of Leaks, accessed 21 October 2026. Leaked document; authenticity not independently verified.
- ↑ Israel Ministry of Justice leak (Distributed Denial of Secrets), email from John Bellinger (Arnold & Porter) to the Ministry of Justice, 19 July 2021, Library of Leaks entity 9269338 Library of Leaks, accessed 21 October 2026. Leaked document; authenticity not independently verified.
- ↑ Israel Ministry of Justice leak (Distributed Denial of Secrets), email exchange between the Ministry of Justice, the Foreign Ministry and Arnold & Porter, 1–3 December 2021, Library of Leaks entity 10945460 Library of Leaks, accessed 21 October 2026. Leaked document; authenticity not independently verified.