Robert Barnett, a top Clinton and Obama advisor and DC powerhouse lawyer, has passed away.
He was 79.
According to the family, Barnett was suffering from an illness, but he was working in his office up until last week.
ABC News reported:
Robert B. Barnett, a powerhouse Washington attorney who became a fixture in the political and publishing worlds as the literary representative for Barack and Michelle Obama, Bill and Hillary Clinton and dozens of other leaders, has died at age 79.
Barnett’s executive assistant, Ashley Duffy, told The Associated Press that he died Thursday night. Additional details were not immediately available.
A stocky, raspy-voiced man with tortoise shell glasses, antique cuff links and a knack for being both forthright and discrete, Bob Barnett embodied an era when it was possible to work freely with both Democrats and Republicans and politics could stop at the edge of a good book deal. He was a longtime Democrat, working on Jimmy Carter’s 1976 campaign and helping Bill Clinton and other candidates in debate preparation. But he would broker contracts for such a wide range of political figures that he liked to joke that should his clients all gather in one room the result would be “World War III.”
He was a partner at the high-end law firm Williams & Connolly, and for more than 20 years no one approached his stature as an intermediary between the Washington elite and New York publishers. From the early 1990s through the end of the Obama administration, in 2017, Barnett represented three consecutive presidents and first ladies — the Clintons, George W. and Laura Bush and the Obamas — and much of the remaining A-list political players, from Ted Kennedy and Mitch McConnell to Dick Cheney and Joe Biden, from Paul Ryan and Donald Rumsfeld to Al Franken and Elizabeth Warren.
The Clintons released a statement on the passing of Bob Barnett.
“Bob Barnett was a brilliant lawyer and so much more to Hillary and me. He was a dear friend, a trusted advisor, and a wise, faithful, and steadfast guide to the publishing and entertainment worlds,” the Clintons said.
“Bob had an insightful eye for editorial detail and a keen ear for language and nuance, but more importantly, he was utterly devoted to his clients, always unfailing generous with his time and his considerate talents,” a statement from Bill and Hillary Clinton read.
Bob Barnett was a brilliant lawyer, a trusted advisor, and a dear friend to Hillary and me. Our statement on his passing. pic.twitter.com/nY8J7R0fPe
— Bill Clinton (@BillClinton) September 26, 2025
“We’re really going to miss our friend Bob Barnett,” Hillary Clinton said.
We’re really going to miss our friend Bob Barnett. https://t.co/5Ns9wmgo6x
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) September 26, 2025
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