Statement by the Press Secretary

National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice announced today the appointment of John B. Bellinger, III, as Senior Associate Counsel to the President and Legal Adviser to the National Security Council, effective February 12.

Mr. Bellinger served as Counsel for National Security Matters in the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice from 1997 to 2001. He previously served as Counsel to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (1996), as General Counsel of the Commission on the Roles and Capabilities of the U.S. Intelligence Community (1995-1996), and as Special Assistant to Director of Central Intelligence William H. Webster (1988-1991). From 1991 to 1995, Mr. Bellinger practiced law with Wilmer Cutler & Pickering in Washington, D.C.

Mr. Bellinger received an A.B. from Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, an M.A. in Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. He and his wife, Dawn, live in Arlington, Virginia, with their two daughters, Catharine and Ann.