Robert Stephen Bennett (August 2, 1939 – September 10, 2023) was an American attorney. He is best known for having represented President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

during the

Clinton–Lewinsky scandal The Clinton–Lewinsky scandal was a sex scandal involving Bill Clinton, the president of the United States, and Monica Lewinsky, a White House intern. Their sexual relationship began in 1995—when Clinton was 49 years old and Lewinsky ...

Education

Robert Stephen Bennett was born on August 2, 1939, in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. He graduated from Brooklyn Preparatory School in 1957. He received his B.A. from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

in 1961, where he was a member of the

Philodemic Society The Philodemic Society is a student debating society at Georgetown University founded in 1830 by Father James Ryder, S.J. The Philodemic is among the oldest such societies in the United States, and is the oldest secular student organization a ...

, his LL.B. from Georgetown in 1964, and his LL.M from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

in 1965.

Career

From 1965 to 1967, he served as a clerk for Howard Francis Corcoran, a judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. After graduating from law school, Bennett served as assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia. He then went on to Hogan & Hartson, where he worked in the litigation department. He then became a partner with the firm Skadden in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

In September 2009, Bennett announced that he would be returning to Hogan & Hartson. On January 20, 2012 Bennett confirmed that he would represent Megaupload, but he withdrew two days later due to a conflict of interest with another client. Bennett represented Judith Miller in the Plame affair grand jury investigation case, Caspar Weinberger during the

Iran–Contra affair The Iran–Contra affair (; ), also referred to as the Iran–Contra scandal, the Iran Initiative, or simply Iran–Contra, was a political scandal in the United States that centered on arms trafficking to Iran between 1981 and 1986, facilitat ...

, Clark Clifford in the

Bank of Credit and Commerce International The Bank of Credit and Commerce International was an international bank founded in 1972 by Agha Hasan Abedi, a Pakistani financier. The bank was registered in Luxembourg with head offices in Karachi and London. A decade after opening, BCCI had ...

(BCCI) scandal, and

Paul Wolfowitz Paul Dundes Wolfowitz (born December 22, 1943) is an American political scientist and diplomat who served as the 10th President of the World Bank, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense, U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia, and dean of Paul H. Nitze Scho ...

in the World Bank Scandal. He served as special counsel for the United States Senate Ethics Committee's 1989–1991 investigation of the

Keating Five File:AlanCranston.jpg, Alan Cranston (D-CA) File:Dennis DeConcini.jpg, File:John Glenn Low Res.jpg, John Glenn (D-OH) File:McCain2 (1).jpg, John McCain (R-AZ) File:Riegle2.jpg, Donald Riegle (D-MI) The Keating Five were five United States Se ...

. In 2008, Bennett was hired by

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...

to defend allegations by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' of an improper relationship with a Washington lobbyist. Bennett served as a member of the National Review Board for the Protection of Children & Young People, created by the

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in the United States. Founded in 2001 after the merger of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and United States Catholic C ...

, from 2002 to 2004. He was the older brother of William Bennett, former

United States secretary of education The United States secretary of education is the head of the United States Department of Education. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States, and the federal government, on policies, programs, and activi ...

and

director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) is a component of the Executive Office of the President of the United States. The director of the ONDCP, colloquially known as the drug czar, heads the office. "Drug czar" was a term first used ...

. He is the author of ''In The Ring: The Trials of a Washington Lawyer'', published in 2008. Bennett is portrayed by Christopher McDonald in the 2021 miniseries '' Impeachment: American Crime Story''.

Death

Robert S. Bennett died of

kidney failure Kidney failure, also known as renal failure or end-stage renal disease (ESRD), is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney fa ...

at his home in Washington, D.C., on September 10, 2023, at the age of 84.

References

External links

* Eisler, Kim.
Robert Bennett Throws Punches, Tells Tales
, ''Washingtonian'', January 30, 2008.
Biography, with photo, on Hogan Lovells' site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Robert S. 1939 births 2023 deaths Georgetown University alumni Harvard Law School alumni Lawyers from Washington, D.C. Brooklyn Preparatory School alumni Lawyers from Brooklyn Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom people Georgetown University Law Center alumni 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American lawyers People associated with Hogan Lovells Philodemic Society members Deaths from kidney failure in the United States