Charles Ruff

Chuck Ruff
White House Counsel
In office February 1997 – August 6, 1999
President	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	Jack Quinn
Succeeded by	Cheryl Mills(Acting)
Corporation Counsel of the District of Columbia
In office August 1995 – February 1997
Mayor	Marion Barry
Preceded by	Jo Anne Robinson(Acting)
Succeeded by	Jo Anne Robinson(Acting)
United States Attorney for the District of Columbia
In office 1979–1981
President	Jimmy Carter
Preceded by	Earl J. Silbert
Succeeded by	Stanley S. Harris
United States Deputy Attorney General Acting
In office 1979–1980
President	Jimmy Carter
Preceded by	Benjamin Civiletti
Succeeded by	Charles B. Renfrew
Special Prosecutorfor theUnited States Department of Justice
In office October 17, 1975 – June 1977
Appointed by	Edward H. Levi
Preceded by	Henry S. Ruth Jr.
Succeeded by	Position abolished
Personal details
Born	(1939-08-01)August 1, 1939 Cleveland, Ohio,U.S.
Died	November 19, 2000(2000-11-19)(aged 61) Washington, D.C.,U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Education	Swarthmore College(BA) Columbia University(JD)

Charles Frederick Carson Ruff(August 1, 1939 – November 19, 2000) was a prominentAmericanlawyerbased inWashington, D.C.,and was best known as theWhite House Counselwho defended PresidentBill Clintonduring hisimpeachment trialin 1999.

Early life and education

Charles Frederick Carson Ruff was born on August 1, 1939, inCleveland Ohio;he grew up mostly inNew York City.Ruff's mother was the public relations director of theMetropolitan Opera,and in anoral historyrecorded shortly before his death Ruff remembered frequently attending the opera as a child, giving him a lifelong love of music.

Ruff received his B.A. degree fromSwarthmore Collegein 1960 and hisJ.D.degree fromColumbia Law Schoolin 1963.Although Ruff ranked twelfth in a class of 235 at Columbia,he later stated that he "absolutely detested law school."

After graduating from law school, Ruff accepted aFord Foundationfellowship to teach law in Africa.In 1964, while inLiberia,Ruff was sickened withflulike symptoms(a specific diagnosis was never made) and almost died; he becameparalyzedin the legs and used a wheelchair for the rest of his life.Ruff preferred not to discuss his disability, saying only that "law is a sedentary profession."

Career

Ruff was a research associate atColumbia University's African Law Center and taught at theUniversity of Pennsylvania.He joined theU.S. Department of Justiceas a trial lawyer in 1967.

Ruff briefly returned to teaching, spending the 1972–73 academic year at the newly establishedAntioch School of Law.Ruff then accepted a job at theGeorgetown University Law Centerand simultaneously at the Justice Department's Watergate Special Prosecution Force, which investigated theWatergate scandal.Ruff served in the office from 1973 to 1977. Initially an assistantspecial prosecutor,Ruff became the fourth and last Watergate special prosecutor, serving from 1976 to 1978; he oversaw the winding-down of the office.As special prosecutor, Ruff also oversaw a three-monthcampaign-financeinvestigation of PresidentGerald R. Ford,who was cleared.During the Watergate years, he also taught at Georgetown University Law Center.

Ruff was chief of the Organized Crime and Labor Management Section of theCriminal Divisionfrom 1970 to 1972; in that position, Ruff oversaw the successful prosecution ofW.A. "Tony" Boyle,the former head of theUnited Mine Workers,for illegal campaign contributions.

In 1978, Ruff became deputy inspector general of theDepartment of Health, Education and Welfare,investigatingMedicareandMedicaid fraud.His nomination was stalled in the Senate for several months byRobert Doleof Kansas.In 1979, Ruff re-joined the Justice Department as actingdeputy attorney general;in this role, Ruff was involved in the prosecution of members ofCongressimplicated in theAbscamscandal.

In 1979, PresidentJimmy Carterappointed Ruff asUnited States Attorney for the District of Columbia;he held that job until 1981.Ruff was considered exceptionally qualified for the post,although someAfrican Americanleaders expressed disappointment that a black lawyer had not been chosen.As U.S. Attorney, Ruff played a "minor legal role" in the case ofJohn W. Hinckley, Jr.'sattempted assassination of Ronald Reaganand theassassination of Orlando Letelier.

In 1982, Ruff joined the Washington law firm ofCovington & Burling,becoming a partner there.Ruff representedSenatorJohn Glennin theKeating Fivescandal (Glenn was admonished by theSenate Ethics Committee) and defended SenatorCharles S. Robbagainst charges of surreptitiously and unlawfully recording, and disseminating, some private conversations of a political rival, GovernorL. Douglas Wilder.In the Robb case, Ruff devised "a masterful and successful strategy": he persuaded his client to appear for a second time before thegrand jury"and then introduced a Justice Department official to instruct the jury that it was not legally bound to follow prosecutors' recommendations for an indictment."

From 1989 and 1990, Ruff served a term as president of theDistrict of Columbia Bar.

In 1991, Ruff was part of the legal team representingAnita Hillduring theClarence Thomas Supreme Court nomination;Ruff arranged for Hill to take apolygraph test.

Ruff was considered by theClinton administrationin 1993 for the post of deputy attorney general, but he was passed over for the position.

Ruff left Covington & Burling in August 1995 to accept an appointment by MayorMarion Barryto the post ofCorporation Counsel for the District of Columbia,overseeing 200 city lawyers.Ruff was credited with restoring the reputation of the office, which had faced criticism after having been beset with a series of problems.Ruff's decision to leave private practice to lead the Corporation Counsel's Office meant an 80% pay cut; Ruff's colleagueLanny A. Breuerstated that Ruff had taken the position because it was the right thing to do.

In February 1997, Ruff left the Corporation Counsel's Office to becomeWhite House Counselto President Clinton, the president's fifth.In this role, became best known for skillfully defending Clinton during his 1999impeachment trialin theSenate,which ended in the president's acquittal.Ruff was one of five defense attorneys who represented Clinton; the others wereGregory B. Craig,Cheryl D. Mills,David E. Kendall.andDale Bumpers.According to hisWashington Postobituary, "within the White House, Mr. Ruff was not seen as an obvious team player. He refrained from freely dispensing information to those who did not absolutely need to know the president's legal strategy."Ruff particularly clashed with Craig, who had been brought on by the White House specifically as the "quarterback" for the impeachment defense strategy; "each man behaved as if he were the one in charge" and the two had different professional styles.

In the summer of 1999, Ruff rejoined Covington & Burling, where he remained for the rest of his life; at the time of his death, Ruff was a senior partner.

Death

Ruff died on November 19, 2000, at theDistrict of Columbia General Hospital,at the age of 61, following aheart attackin his home.At the time of his death, Ruff was part ofVice PresidentAl Gore's legal team in theFlorida recountcase.Ruff was survived by his wife of 38 years, Susan (Sue) Willis Ruff, as well as his mother, two daughters, two granddaughters, and a half-sister, Carla Ruff.

On his death, hisNew York Timesobituary described him as "one of Washington's most influential if least self-important lawyers."

Honors

On January 8, 2001, Ruff was posthumously awarded thePresidential Citizens Medalby President Clinton.

External links

• Text of Ruff's opening argument for the defensein the Clinton impeachment trial,Congressional Record(January 19, 1999)
• AppearancesonC-SPAN