Ann Norris is the former foreign policy adviser to Barack Obama. She is married to Ben Rhodes, who served as President Obama’s Deputy National Security Adviser.
In 2017, some of President Trump’s advisers circulated a memo suggesting that Ben Rhodes and other former Obama staffers were conspiring to bring down the Trump administration. You can read more about that memo here. Trump’s staffers called the conspiracy the “Echo Chamber conspiracy” and theorized that Ben Rhodes was its leader. Rhodes is “likely the brain behind this operation,” the memo read.
The memo also refers, briefly to Ann Norris, mentioning that she is Rhodes’ wife and implying that her position, as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for legislative affairs in the State Department, may benefit Rhodes.
Ben Rhodes has denied that he was ever involved in any such conspiracy.
Here’s what you need to know about Ann Norris:
1. Media Reports Say She Was Targeted by a Shadowy Group Called Black Cube, Which Tried to Discredit Proponents of the Iran Nuclear Deal
In June, 2017, Ann Norris, a former State Department official, who is married to Ben Rhodes, a prominent advocate of the Iranian nuclear deal, received an e-mail from a woman who introduced herself as Eva Novak.
In May, the New Yorker reported that a group of “Israeli Operatives” was collecting information about former Obama officials, in an effort to discredit them. The New Yorker says that the Israeli plan, code named “Black Cube,” was deliberately targeting people who had been proponents of the Iran nuclear deal. Israel’s government is staunchly opposed to any deal that would redue sanctions and controls on Iran.
The New Yorker reported that “a woman who introduced herself as Eva Novak and claimed to work for a London-based film company called Shell Productions asked [Ann] Norris to consult on a movie that she described as “ ‘All the President’s Men’ meets ‘The West Wing.’”
Norris apparently turned down the woman’s request, which she found too “bizarre” to be true. You can read more about Black Cube and their alleged operation here.
2. She Graduated from the US Naval War College With a Degree in National Security
Norris went to college at UCLA, graduating in 2000 with a dual degree in International Relations and US Literature. She went on to graduate school at the US Naval War College, where she earned an MA in National Security and Strategic Studies.
Norris worked as foreign policy adviser to California senator Barbara Boxer for nine years. From there, she went on to work for the State Department, first in the department’s office of global women’s issues, and then in the State Department’s Bureau of Legislative Affairs.
You can read her full work and education history on her LinkedIn page, here.
3. Norris and Rhodes Have Two Children
Ben and Ann have two children. Their oldest is a girl, Ella, who was born in 2015. Since leaving their jobs in the government, they have had another child.
The couple is relatively private about their lives, and do not publicize their family. They seldom appear in pictures together or with their children.
4. Norris Grew Up in California and Told the NY Times She ‘Longed’ to Return Home
During their years working for the Obama administration, Ann and Ben lived in an “unpretentious” neighborhood in Washington, DC. A Nwe York Times profile said that it was near Ben’s favorite college bar, and also close enough to their daughter’s daycare that they could walk her there.
But Ann, a California native, told the Times that she was longing to return home to California.
Ann Norris grew up in California and went to college at UCLA. She earned a double degree in International Relations and American Literature.
5. Ben Rhodes Says Working at the White House ‘Took a Toll’ on His Relationships
In an interview with NPR, Ben Rhodes talked about the “toll” that working in the highly-charged White House took on him and on his relationships. Rhodes said,
“I had the Secret Service actually patrolling my block at some point. I didn’t sign up for that. I went to work to write speeches for Barack Obama! One morning I left my house to get my dry cleaning … and a Fox News camera literally chases me up the stairs in my apartment building, camera pointed at me going, “What about Benghazi?” By the way this is like two years after Benghazi. …
I didn’t know at the time how much that was making me kind of angry. You push it down, but the experience of working became much less joyful and cynicism does creep in and your relationships suffer a bit because you become kind of grumpy. I stopped sleeping very well. … This all looks like a game from afar, but they are human beings who are in these jobs and it can take a real toll.”