Washington, DC, superlawyer Bob Barnett dead at 79
By Jeff Zeleny, Michael Williams, Fadel Allassan, CNN
(CNN) — Robert B. Barnett, a Washington, DC, lawyer and dealmaker who represented some of the most notable American political figures over the last half century, has died. He was 79.
His death was confirmed to CNN by his wife Rita Braver – a longtime CBS journalist. “He was the greatest husband ever,” she said.
While Barnett was well traveled among the ranks of the Washington establishment, he stood apart for something few lawyers of his caliber did: representing those on both sides of the aisle.
His Democratic politics were well known, but he was eagerly sought out by Republicans when they had books to sell or deals to close.
For more than four decades, Barnett built a celebrity client list that read like a page from the history of modern American politics, working closely with politicians who spanned the ideological divide from Hillary Clinton to Sarah Palin and so many in between, signing myriad multimillion-dollar deals along the way.
A longtime partner at one of the most prominent law firms in the nation’s capital, Williams & Connolly, Barnett also helped advise and broker deals for scores of the city’s top journalists and commentators as they signed with television networks and publishers.
His political work – woven throughout all facets of the industry – helped build a reputation as “Washington’s consummate insider,” as Politico described him in 2017.
Long before political divisions deepened in the capital and the country, Barnett worked on 10 national presidential campaigns and often took on a stand-in role for the opponents of candidates he was prepping for nationally televised debates.
He played the role of George H.W. Bush while helping to prepare Democratic vice presidential nominee Geraldine Ferraro for her historic candidacy in 1984. Four years later, he played Bush again in helping Democratic presidential nominee Michael Dukakis.
He practice-debated Bill Clinton more than 20 times through the bitter Democratic primary fight in 1992 and subsequent general election battles.
He played the role of Dick Cheney in debate practice sessions with Joe Lieberman in 2000 and four years later, played Cheney again to help prepare John Edwards for his Democratic vice-presidential run.
He also helped to prepare Hillary Clinton for her 2008 presidential primary debates before moving on to help her then-opponent, Barack Obama, after he won the Democratic nomination.
One of his most prominent roles of all was trying to bring the Clinton and Obama camps together after the acrimonious primary campaign. He would later tell friends it was one of his most complicated, but important, assignments.
Barnett returned to helping Clinton’s campaign during her 2016 presidential run, standing in as both Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primary and Mike Pence in vice presidential debate prep with Tim Kaine.
A proud son of the Midwest, Barnett was born in Illinois and attended the University of Wisconsin and the University of Chicago, where he received a law degree. He was married to Braver for 53 years.
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