Guide Note

Robert Kjellander is a former lobbyist for the Carlyle Group and a major donor to the Republican Party. Kjellander became the treasurer for the Republican National Committee in 2005. He also held the position of the Republican National Committeeman for the State of Illinois, but was replaced by Patrick Brady, which will be effective at year's end.

In April 2008, Kjellander's name surfaced during the Tony Rezko corruption trial in Chicago. A former associate of Rezko's, Ali Ata, reported that Rezko had told him in 2004 that Kjellander was working to get White House strategist Karl Rove to remove U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald from the Rezko case. Kjellander and Rove have both claimed they have no memory of any conversation concerning removing Fitzgerald from the post. Fitzgerald was appointed Special Counsel to investigate the leak of C.I.A. agent Valerie Plame's name to the press in 2003.