Bellinger served as Counsel for National Security Matters in the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice from 1997 to 2001 . He served previously as Counsel to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence ( 1996 ) , as General Counsel to 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 Webster ( 1988 – 1991 ) . From 1991 to 1995 , he practiced law with Wilmer Cutler & Pickering in Washington , D.C . In February 2001 , Bellinger was appointed as Senior Associate Counsel to the President and Legal Adviser to the National Security Council at the White House , where he served as the principal lawyer for National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and the NSC staff . He was in the White House Situation Room on 9/11 and later was the primary lawyer for the White House in dealing with the 9/11 Commission . He was one of the drafters of the legislation that created the Office of the Director of National Intelligence
9/11
September 11 attacks
John B. Bellinger III