Eldon Rudd
Encyclopedia
Eldon Dean Rudd was a U.S.
Republican
politician
.
. A 1939 graduate of Clarkdale High School in Clarkdale, Arizona
, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps
in 1942 and served as a fighter pilot
during World War II
. After his discharge in 1946, he attended Arizona State College
, from which he graduated in 1947, and the University of Arizona Law School
in Tucson.
for the Federal Bureau of Investigation
in 1950. As the only FBI field agent in Washington, D.C.
fluent in Spanish
in 1954, Rudd participated in the interrogation of the Puerto Rican
nationalists involved in the attack on the U.S. House of Representatives that year. His report impressed FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover
, who personally offered Rudd his next choice of assignment, which he received as U.S. legal attaché
at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City
, Mexico
, where he served from 1960 to 1970.
When assassin
Lee Harvey Oswald
shot and killed President John F. Kennedy
in Dallas, Texas
, on November 22, 1963, Rudd was ordered by Hoover to collect from the Mexican government
their law enforcement and intelligence files on Lee Harvey Oswald, including files relating to Oswald's connections to the pro-Fidel Castro
Fair Play for Cuba Committee
, Oswald's several trips to and from Cuba, and his arrest in Mexico City. Rudd obtained Oswald's file from the Mexican government and personally flew a Cessna
aircraft from Mexico City to Dallas, Texas, to provide the documents to FBI officials in Dallas as Kennedy's body was on its way to Washington, D.C.
with Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson
and widow Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy
.
, where he became involved in politics. He was elected to the Board of Supervisors for Maricopa County
in 1972. Four years later, he won election to the United States House of Representatives
for Arizona's 4th congressional district
and served from January 3, 1977 to January 3, 1987. As a U.S. congressman, Rudd was a fiscal conservative
, an orthodox Catholic, and a member of the important Appropriations Committee
for five years where he opposed the expenditure of federal taxpayer dollars for abortion
s.
A staunch anti-communist, Rudd was a tireless supporter of U.S. anti-communist efforts in Central and South America, and was the last American to visit with Nicaragua
n President Anastasio Somoza
before he was killed by Sandinista
forces.
During the 1980 presidential election
, Rudd, with help from FBI colleagues with access to security officials at the White House
, allegedly obtained debate preparation documents prepared for President Jimmy Carter
for his election debates against Republican
nominee Ronald Reagan
, and provided the so-called "Carter debate papers" to the Reagan presidential campaign. (See also: Debategate
)
. Remaining active in Republican party politics, he served as campaign manager for Doug Wead
during Wead's unsuccessful 1992 run for Arizona's 6th congressional district
. Rudd died in Scottsdale, Arizona
on February 8, 2002; his remains were cremated and the ashes interred in the National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
.
Biography
Rudd was born in Camp Verde, ArizonaCamp Verde, Arizona
Camp Verde is a town in Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the town is 10,610....
. A 1939 graduate of Clarkdale High School in Clarkdale, Arizona
Clarkdale, Arizona
Clarkdale is a town in Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the town is 3,836.Clarkdale, formerly a mining town, is now largely a retirement community with an eye for the arts.-History:...
, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
in 1942 and served as a fighter pilot
Fighter pilot
A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained in air-to-air combat while piloting a fighter aircraft . Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and dogfighting...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. After his discharge in 1946, he attended Arizona State College
Arizona State University
Arizona State University is a public research university located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area of the State of Arizona...
, from which he graduated in 1947, and the University of Arizona Law School
James E. Rogers College of Law
James E. Rogers College of Law is the law school at the University of Arizona located in Tucson, Arizona and was the first law school founded in the State of Arizona, opening its doors in 1915. Formerly known as University of Arizona College of Law, it was renamed in 1999 in honor of noted...
in Tucson.
Years in the FBI
After a brief period in private practice, Rudd became a special agentSpecial agent
Special agent is usually the title for a detective or investigator for a state, county, municipal, federal or tribal government. An agent is a worker for any federal agency, and a secret agent is one who works for an intelligence agency....
for the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
in 1950. As the only FBI field agent in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
fluent in Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
in 1954, Rudd participated in the interrogation of the Puerto Rican
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
nationalists involved in the attack on the U.S. House of Representatives that year. His report impressed FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover
J. Edgar Hoover
John Edgar Hoover was the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States. Appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation—predecessor to the FBI—in 1924, he was instrumental in founding the FBI in 1935, where he remained director until his death in 1972...
, who personally offered Rudd his next choice of assignment, which he received as U.S. legal attaché
Attaché
Attaché is a French term in diplomacy referring to a person who is assigned to the diplomatic or administrative staff of a higher placed person or another service or agency...
at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, where he served from 1960 to 1970.
When assassin
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
Lee Harvey Oswald
Lee Harvey Oswald
Lee Harvey Oswald was, according to four government investigations,These were investigations by: the Federal Bureau of Investigation , the Warren Commission , the House Select Committee on Assassinations , and the Dallas Police Department. the sniper who assassinated John F...
shot and killed President John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
in Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, on November 22, 1963, Rudd was ordered by Hoover to collect from the Mexican government
Politics of Mexico
The politics of Mexico take place in a framework of a federal presidential representative democratic republic whose government is based on a congressional system, whereby the president of Mexico is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system...
their law enforcement and intelligence files on Lee Harvey Oswald, including files relating to Oswald's connections to the pro-Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
Fair Play for Cuba Committee
Fair Play for Cuba Committee
The Fair Play for Cuba Committee was an activist group set up in New York in April 1960. The FPCC's purpose was to provide grassroots support for the Cuban Revolution against attacks by the United States government, once Fidel Castro began openly admitting his commitment to Marxism and began the...
, Oswald's several trips to and from Cuba, and his arrest in Mexico City. Rudd obtained Oswald's file from the Mexican government and personally flew a Cessna
Cessna
The Cessna Aircraft Company is an airplane manufacturing corporation headquartered in Wichita, Kansas, USA. Their main products are general aviation aircraft. Although they are the most well known for their small, piston-powered aircraft, they also produce business jets. The company is a subsidiary...
aircraft from Mexico City to Dallas, Texas, to provide the documents to FBI officials in Dallas as Kennedy's body was on its way to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
with Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
and widow Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
Jacqueline Lee Bouvier "Jackie" Kennedy Onassis was the wife of the 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, and served as First Lady of the United States during his presidency from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. Five years later she married Greek shipping magnate Aristotle...
.
Political career
After leaving the FBI in 1970, Rudd moved to ArizonaArizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, where he became involved in politics. He was elected to the Board of Supervisors for Maricopa County
Maricopa County, Arizona
-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*73.0% White*5.0% Black*2.1% Native American*3.5% Asian*0.2% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*3.5% Two or more races*12.7% Other races*29.6% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...
in 1972. Four years later, he won election to the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
for Arizona's 4th congressional district
Arizona's 4th congressional district
Arizona's 4th congressional district is a congressional district located in the U.S. state of Arizona and contains the southern portion of the city of Phoenix and some of its suburbs, including part of Glendale....
and served from January 3, 1977 to January 3, 1987. As a U.S. congressman, Rudd was a fiscal conservative
Fiscal conservatism
Fiscal conservatism is a political term used to describe a fiscal policy that advocates avoiding deficit spending. Fiscal conservatives often consider reduction of overall government spending and national debt as well as ensuring balanced budget of paramount importance...
, an orthodox Catholic, and a member of the important Appropriations Committee
United States House Committee on Appropriations
The Committee on Appropriations is a committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is in charge of setting the specific expenditures of money by the government of the United States...
for five years where he opposed the expenditure of federal taxpayer dollars for abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
s.
A staunch anti-communist, Rudd was a tireless supporter of U.S. anti-communist efforts in Central and South America, and was the last American to visit with Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
n President Anastasio Somoza
Anastasio Somoza Debayle
Anastasio Somoza Debayle was a Nicaraguan leader and officially the 73rd and 76th President of Nicaragua from 1 May 1967 to 1 May 1972 and from 1 December 1974 to 17 July 1979. As head of the National Guard, he was de facto ruler of the country from 1967 to 1979...
before he was killed by Sandinista
Sandinista National Liberation Front
The Sandinista National Liberation Front is a socialist political party in Nicaragua. Its members are called Sandinistas in both English and Spanish...
forces.
During the 1980 presidential election
United States presidential election, 1980
The United States presidential election of 1980 featured a contest between incumbent Democrat Jimmy Carter and his Republican opponent, Ronald Reagan, as well as Republican Congressman John B. Anderson, who ran as an independent...
, Rudd, with help from FBI colleagues with access to security officials at the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
, allegedly obtained debate preparation documents prepared for President Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
for his election debates against Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
nominee Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
, and provided the so-called "Carter debate papers" to the Reagan presidential campaign. (See also: Debategate
Debategate
Debategate was a scandal affecting the administration of Ronald Reagan; it took place in the final days of the 1980 presidential election. Briefing papers that were to have been used by President Jimmy Carter in preparation for the October 28, 1980, debate with Reagan had somehow been acquired by...
)
Later years
Rudd retired from Congress in 1987 and took a position with the Salt River ProjectSalt River Project
The Salt River Project is the umbrella name for two separate entities: the Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District, an agency of the state of Arizona that serves as an electrical utility for the Phoenix metropolitan area, and the Salt River Valley Water Users' Association, a...
. Remaining active in Republican party politics, he served as campaign manager for Doug Wead
Doug Wead
Doug Wead is a presidential historian, philanthropist and public speaker. He was Special Assistant to U.S. President George H. W. Bush, and is the author of more than thirty books, including the New York Times best-seller All the Presidents’ Children: Triumph and Tragedy in the Lives of the First...
during Wead's unsuccessful 1992 run for Arizona's 6th congressional district
Arizona's 6th congressional district
Arizona's 6th congressional district is a congressional district located in the U.S. state of Arizona and encompasses parts of Maricopa and Pinal counties...
. Rudd died in Scottsdale, Arizona
Scottsdale, Arizona
Scottsdale is a city in the eastern part of Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, adjacent to Phoenix. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2010 the population of the city was 217,385...
on February 8, 2002; his remains were cremated and the ashes interred in the National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona
National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona
National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona is a United States National Cemetery located in the city of Phoenix in Maricopa County, Arizona. It encompasses , and as of the end of 2005, had 43,672 interments.-History:...
.