John B. Bellinger, III is Co-Chair of the FP4A Policy Committee. Mr. Bellinger is the co-chair of Arnold & Porter’s Global Law and Public Policy practice. He joined the firm in 2009, after holding several senior Presidential appointments, including as the Legal Adviser to the Department of State and Senior Associate Counsel to the President and Legal Adviser to the National Security Council in the George W. Bush administration. As the State Department Legal Adviser – the most senior international lawyer in the U.S. Government – from 2005-2009, Mr. Bellinger directed more than 170 lawyers on domestic and international law matters affecting U.S. foreign relations. As Legal Adviser to the NSC from 2001 to 2005, Mr. Bellinger advised President Bush, Cabinet officials, National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, and NSC staff on a range of national security and international law issues, including counterterrorism issues after the 9-11 attacks. Prior to his service in the Bush administration, Mr. Bellinger served as Counsel for National Security Matters in the Criminal Division at the U.S. Department of Justice; Of Counsel to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence; General Counsel of the Commission on the Roles and Capabilities of the U.S. Intelligence Community; and Special Assistant to Director of Central Intelligence William H. Webster.
Mr. Bellinger is an Adjunct Senior Fellow in International and National Security Law at the Council on Foreign Relations. He has testified before Congress on numerous occasions, and has lectured at numerous U.S. and foreign universities and law schools, and is the author of many law review articles and op-eds on international law. Mr. Bellinger is a member of the Secretary of State’s Advisory Committee on International Law. He is also a member of the American Society of International Law; the Council of the American Law Institute; the boards of directors of the American Ditchley Foundation, the Salzburg Global Seminar, the Association for Diplomatic Studies & Training, and the Stimson Center; and the advisory committee of Foreign Affairs magazine. Mr. Bellinger has a BA from Princeton, an MA in Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia, and a JD from Harvard Law School.
Explore some of Mr. Bellinger’s recent commentary:
- The Future of US-China Relations with the US Ambassador — Arnold & Porter, 5/2/23
- Reflections on Three Decades of U.S. Efforts to Resolve the Lockerbie Bombing — Lawfare, 12/19/22
- Missouri Decision Foreshadows Outcomes of Remaining Coronavirus-Related Suits Against China — Lawfare, 9/14/22
- How Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine Violates International Law — Council on Foreign Relations, 2/28/22
- Reforming the War Powers Resolution for the 21st Century — Council on Foreign Relations, 3/23/21
- The Lawfare Podcast: War Powers and the Biden Administration — Lawfare, 3/12/21
- Lawfare Live: War Powers in the Biden Administration — Lawfare, 3/8/21
- China’s Abuse of the Uighurs: Does the Genocide Label Fit? — Council on Foreign Relations, 2/3/21
- Guantanamo Bay: Twenty Years Later — Lawfare, 1/24/22
- Suing China over the coronavirus won’t help. Here’s what can work. — The Washington Post, 4/23/20
- Congress Intended That Helms-Burton Act Lawsuits Target Foreign Companies. So Far They Haven’t — National Law Journal, 4/22/20
- Conflicting Rulings in Cases Brought Under the Helms-Burton Act — Lawfare, 1/10/20
- Donald Trump Is Still a Danger to Our National Security — Lawfare, 1/10/21
- Does the U.S. Strike on Soleimani Break Legal Norms? — Council on Foreign Relations , 1/6/20