Robert Kelner
US election and political law lawyer; chair of Covington & Burling's Election and Political Law practice
| Robert K. Kelner
| |
|---|---|
| Image |  Kelner (Covington & Burling) |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Lawyer; partner, Covington & Burling LLP |
| Known for | FARA and political law; counsel to Michael Flynn; the Israeli Ministry of Strategic Affairs' first choice of FARA adviser (2017) |
| Education | AB, Princeton University (1989); JD, University of Virginia School of Law (1997) |
Robert K. Kelner is an American lawyer who chairs the Election and Political Law Practice Group at Covington & Burling LLP. His areas of expertise include the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and the Lobbying Disclosure Act.[1] Covington says he has represented the Republican National Committee and the party's congressional and senatorial committees. It also lists him as an adjunct professor of legal ethics at Georgetown University Law Center and a member of the Federalist Society.[1]
Career
According to his firm, Kelner was a speechwriter for HUD Secretary Jack Kemp (1990–1992), a vice president of the Sawyer-Miller Group, "a crisis communications and international political consulting firm" (1993–1994), and a political communications consultant at the World Bank (1994–1995). He clerked for Judge José Cabranes of the Second Circuit (1997–1998). Covington lists Hebrew and Russian among his languages.[1]
Flynn Intel Group
On 7 March 2017 Kelner, writing for Covington, filed a FARA registration for Michael Flynn's Flynn Intel Group. The filing concerned the firm's earlier work for Inovo BV, a Dutch company.[2]
Ministry of Strategic Affairs FARA adviser (2017–2018)
The following comes from leaked Israeli Ministry of Justice documents, released by the hacking group Anonymous for Justice and published by Distributed Denial of Secrets. The material has not been independently verified.[3] According to these documents, in December 2017 Israel's Ministry of Strategic Affairs asked to hire Covington, with Kelner, as its adviser on FARA. Covington was the top-rated of three firms, scoring 92% at $768 an hour.[4] A revised request in January 2018 dropped him. It said there were "policy considerations because of which it is not possible to engage attorney Robert Kelner, relating to another case in which the attorney is involved", because "he is currently advising President Donald Trump's former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, who is involved in the Russia affair" (translated from Hebrew). Sandler Reiff was hired instead.[4]
See also
External links
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Covington & Burling LLP, Robert K. Kelner Covington & Burling, accessed 22 October 2026. Covington-side.
- ↑ Covington & Burling (Robert K. Kelner) for Flynn Intel Group, Registration Statement, FARA no. 6406 US Department of Justice, FARA eFile, received 7 March 2017, accessed 22 October 2026.
- ↑ Distributed Denial of Secrets, Israel Ministry of Justice DDoSecrets, 25 July 2024, accessed 21 October 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Leaked Israeli Ministry of Justice document, Library of Leaks entity 9397718 Library of Leaks (DDoSecrets), Hebrew; a ministry exemption request for FARA legal advice, December 2017 – January 2018; accessed 21 October 2026. Leaked; not independently verified.