Christopher Ruddy is a conservative American journalist. He is known for his controversial writings about the death of deputy White House counsel Vincent Foster. Ruddy is currently the CEO of NewsMax Media, an Internet media company he founded. Conservative may refer to: Conservatism, political philosophy A member of a Conservative Party Conservative extension, premise of deductive logic Conservativity theorem, mathematical proof of conservative extension Conservative Judaism britney spears Category: ... Vincent Walker Foster, Jr. ... Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is the job of having the ultimate executive responsibility or authority within an organization or corporation. ... NewsMax Media is a news organization founded by journalist Christopher Ruddy and based in West Palm Beach, Florida. ...

Background

Ruddy grew up on Long Island, New York, where his father was a police officer in Nassau County.^[1] After graduating from Chaminade High School in Mineola, he earned his undergraduate degree in history from St. John's University in New York City and a master’s degree from the London School of Economics, and also studied at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He worked briefly as a high school teacher. Map showing Long Island; to the north is Connecticut and to the west are New York City and New Jersey. ... NY redirects here. ... Nassau County is a suburban county in the New York Metropolitan Area east of New York City in the U.S. state of New York. ... Chaminade can refer to: William Joseph Chaminade Cécile Chaminade, French composer and pianist Chaminade University of Honolulu Chaminade High School in Mineola, New York Chaminade College Preparatory School (California) in West Hills, California Chaminade College Preparatory School (Missouri) in St. ... Mineola is the name of several places in the United States of America: Mineola, New York Mineola, Texas This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... St. ... Nickname: Big Apple, Gotham, NYC, City That Never Sleeps, The Concrete Jungle, The City So Nice They Named It Twice Location in the state of New York Coordinates: Country United States State New York Boroughs The Bronx Brooklyn Manhattan Queens Staten Island Settled 1676 Government  - Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Area... A brothel, also known as a bordello or whorehouse, is an establishment specifically dedicated to prostitution. ... The Hebrew University of Jerusalem is one of Israels oldest, largest, and most important institutes of higher learning and research. ...

Early in his career, Ruddy was editor of an alternative media publication known as the New York Guardian.^[2] While with the Guardian, Ruddy gained notice for debunking a story in the PBS documentary Liberators that an all-black army unit had liberated the Buchenwald and Dachau concentration camps.^[3] He called the documentary an example of "how the media can manipulate facts and narratives to create a revised history both believable and untrue."^[4] Ruddy then moved into more mainstream journalism with the New York Post, which he joined as an investigative reporter late in the summer of 1993. After initially writing about abuse of Social Security disability benefits, he focused on the Vincent Foster case, the subject of an ongoing investigation after Foster had died earlier that year.^[5] The New York Guardian was a monthly periodical produced by Herbert London of the Conservative Party of New York. ... Slave laborers in the Buchenwald concentration camp (Elie Wiesel is second row, seventh from left). ... The main entrance just after the liberation Two ovens inside the Dachau crematorium Dachau was a Nazi German concentration camp located on the grounds of an abandoned munitions factory near the medieval town of Dachau, about 10 miles northwest of Munich in southern Germany. ... The New York Post is the 13th-oldest[] newspaper published in the United States and the oldest to have been published continually as a daily. ...

Vincent Foster case

There have been three official investigations of the death of deputy White House counsel Vincent Foster, all of which concluded that he committed suicide.^[6] The first was by the United States Park Police in whose jurisdiction the original investigation fell. Due to Foster's position in the White House, the FBI assisted in the investigation. In January 1994, Ruddy began writing stories questioning the official conclusion that Foster had committed suicide and pointing to weaknesses in the Park Police investigation. Suicide (from Latin sui caedere, to kill oneself) is the willful act of killing oneself. ... The United States Park Police is the oldest uniformed federal law enforcement agency in the United States. ... The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is a federal criminal investigative, intelligence agency, and the primary investigative arm of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). ...

About six months after Foster's death, Ruddy interviewed some of the emergency personnel who had attended to the body. The paramedics talked about the relative lack of blood at the scene, and it was suggested, according to homicide experts Ruddy consulted, "that Foster may have been killed elsewhere and that his body was dumped in the park." Ruddy also pointed to tests that had not been conducted and other issues not accounted for by the investigation.^[7]

Ruddy’s articles began after Janet Reno, due to Foster’s connections to the Clintons' business dealings and a White House travel office controversy, had been pressured into appointing an independent counsel to investigate what came to be known as Whitewater. The first independent counsel, Robert Fiske, and the FBI also investigated the circumstances of Foster's death and the White House response. In a report released June 30, 1994, Fiske concluded that Foster had committed suicide. The Post had already stopped publishing articles by Ruddy about the case in March 1994. Accuracy in Media, another organization that had been pursuing the story, criticized the Post for accepting Fiske’s conclusion, reportedly leaked to the media around this time, and pulling Ruddy off the story.^[8] Janet Reno (born July 21, 1938) was the first female Attorney General of the United States (1993–2001). ... The White House travel office controversy began on May 19, 1993, when several longtime employees of the White House Travel Office were fired. ... The Whitewater Controversy (also called the Whitewater scandal or simply Whitewater) was an American political controversy concerning the real estate dealings of Bill and Hillary Clinton and their associates in the Whitewater Development Agency during the 1970s and 1980s. ... Robert Bishop Fiske, Jr. ... June 30 is the 181st day of the year (182nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 184 days remaining. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by United Nations. ... Accuracy In Media (AIM) is an American organization which monitors the news media in the United States. ...

According to James B. Stewart, Ruddy refused to work on other stories and ultimately resigned. Post editor Eric Breindel recommended him for a job at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review owned by Richard Mellon Scaife.^[9] In November 1994, Ruddy was hired to investigate the story full-time by the Tribune-Review.^[10] In between Ruddy’s departure from the Post and joining the Tribune-Review, he put out a report through the Western Journalism Center criticizing the Fiske investigation as inadequate. With the help of Scaife, the Center took out full-page ads in major newspapers to promote the report (Scaife gave $330,000 to the Center in 1994-95 before ending his support).^[11][12] James Brewer Stewart (born c. ... The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review is a newspaper in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. It was founded in 1992 as an offshoot of the Greensburg Tribune-Review following a press strike at the two previously dominant Pittsburgh dailies. ... Richard Mellon Scaife (born July 3, 1932, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), a U.S. billionaire and owner–publisher of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. ... The Western Journalism Center, founded in 1997 by Joseph Farah and James H. Smith, is the non-profit parent company of WorldNetDaily and has funded conservative causes. ...

Ruddy’s report now claimed that Park Police had staged the scene of Foster’s death as described in their reports.^[13] One of the officers named by Ruddy sued him along with the Western Journalism Center, seeking $2 million in damages for libel.^[14] The suit was dismissed because Ruddy had not specifically charged the officer with wrongdoing, only the Park Police in general.^[15] In English and American law, and systems based on them, libel and slander are two forms of defamation (or defamation of character), which is the tort or delict of making a false statement of fact that injures someones reputation. ...

Ruddy later built on his work on the Foster case for his book The Strange Death of Vincent Foster. In reviewing the book, Richard Brookhiser of the National Review called it "the St. Mark version of the gospel of the Foster cover-up: a plain narrative of the perceived failings of the official investigation, with minimal speculation."^[16] Shortly after the book came out, Fiske’s successor as independent counsel, Kenneth Starr, released his report from the third investigation into Foster’s death. Starr also concluded that Foster had committed suicide. The Strange Death of Vincent Foster: An Investigation is a book written by conservative journalist Christopher Ruddy. ... National Review (NR) is a biweekly magazine of political opinion, founded by author William F. Buckley Jr. ... Kenneth Winston Starr Kenneth Winston Starr (born July 21, 1946) is an American lawyer and former judge who was appointed to the Office of the Independent Counsel to investigate the death of the deputy White House counsel Vince Foster and the Whitewater land transactions by President Bill Clinton. ...

Once Starr's report was out, many conservatives distanced themselves from the conspiracy theories that had arisen about Foster’s death. They often singled out Ruddy for criticism as a symbol of this phenomenon. One critic wrote a particularly harsh review of Ruddy's book in The American Spectator, a magazine to which Scaife was giving sizable annual grants. In response, Scaife informed its editor that he would not continue his financial support of the magazine. The Wall Street Journal commented about Ruddy, "He and a few allies are obsessive in refusing to accept the answers Mr. Starr now provides. But that does not mean his questions never should have been asked."^[17] The American Spectator magazine. ... The Wall Street Journal is an influential international daily newspaper published in New York City, New York with an average daily circulation of 1,800,607 (2002). ...

Ron Brown investigation

Ruddy followed up his book with an investigation of the circumstances surrounding Commerce Secretary Ron Brown’s death. Brown had been killed in a plane crash in Croatia in 1996. Citing the opinion of a medical examiner who was involved in the investigation, but did not actually examine Brown's body, Ruddy raised the possibility that Brown had received a head wound from a gunshot.^[18] This notion was rejected by the medical examiner who did examine the corpse, who concluded that Brown died of blunt force injuries from the crash. An Air Force statement said there was no exit wound and explained that apparent "bullet fragments" were caused by defective x-ray film.^[19] Photo of Ron Brown Ronald Harmon Brown (August 1, 1941 – April 3, 1996), was the first black United States Secretary of Commerce, serving during the first term of President Bill Clinton. ...

In defense of his reporting, Ruddy said, "I never offer any conspiracy theories. If I think there's something that doesn't add up or smells fishy and there's evidence to support it, I report it."^[18] The coverage prompted White House press secretary Mike McCurry to name Ruddy when asked who in the press was a "hate merchant". Ruddy responded that the White House was "panicking" over the attention the story had gotten.^[20] Mike McCurry conducts a White House press conference Mike McCurry (born 27 October 1954) is best known as the former press secretary for Bill Clintons administration. ...

NewsMax

In 1998, impressed with the way news of the Lewinsky scandal circulated on the Internet, Ruddy decided to start an Internet news company. With financial support from Scaife and other investors, Ruddy founded NewsMax Media.^[21] The NewsMax.com website launched on September 16, 1998, with Ruddy serving as columnist and editor-in-chief. In addition to the website, the company publishes a monthly NewsMax Magazine. After starting NewsMax, Ruddy was mentioned in a January 1999 Newsweek article as one of twenty "Stars of the New News."^[22] The Monica Lewinsky scandal was a political sex scandal emerging from a short-term sexual relationship between United States President Bill Clinton and a then 22-year-old White House intern, Monica Lewinsky. ... September 16 is the 259th day of the year (260th in leap years). ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean [1]. // Coated in ice, power and telephone lines sag and often break, resulting in power outages. ... The Editor in chief is a publications primary editor. ... The Newsweek logo Newsweek is a weekly news magazine published in New York City and distributed throughout the United States and internationally. ...

Compared with his reporting during Bill Clinton's presidency, Ruddy eventually took a more subdued view to Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. He said she had moderated and no longer generated the same animosity among conservatives. Ruddy told The New York Times he and Scaife had changed their views: "Both of us have had a rethinking. Clinton wasn’t such a bad president. In fact, he was a pretty good president in a lot of ways, and Dick feels that way today."^[23] This got some attention in conservative circles, with John Podhoretz questioning the rationale for their change of heart and complaining that Ruddy's earlier allegations had undermined "principled critiques" of the Clintons.^[24] David Horowitz defended Ruddy in response, suggesting the comment referred to Clinton's domestic policies and arguing that Ruddy had not considered those objectionable even during the Clinton administration itself.^[25] William Jefferson Bill Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III[1] on August 19, 1946) was the 42nd President of the United States, serving from 1993 to 2001. ... Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton (born October 26, 1947), was First Lady of the United States from 1993 to 2001, as the wife of President Bill Clinton. ... The New York Times is a newspaper published in New York City by Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr. ... John Podhoretz (born April 18, 1961) is a U.S. neoconservative commentator for a variety of media sources, the author of several books on politics, and a former presidential speechwriter. ... David Joel Horowitz (born January 10, 1939) is an American conservative writer and activist. ...

Publications

• Books
  • Vincent Foster: The Ruddy Investigation (United Publishing Company, 1996)
  • The Strange Death of Vincent Foster: An Investigation (Free Press, Simon & Schuster, 1997. ISBN 0-684-83837-0.)
  • Bitter Legacy: NewsMax Reveals the Untold Story of the Clinton-Gore Years (NewsMax Media, 2002. ISBN 0-9716807-3-6.)
  • Catastrophe: Clinton's Role in America's Worst Disaster (NewsMax Media, 2002. ISBN 0-9716807-5-2.)
• Other
  • "A special report on the Fiske investigation of the death of Vincent W. Foster, Jr." (Western Journalism Center, 1997.)
  • "Internet Vortex", an online newsletter (published from 1998 to 2000)

The Strange Death of Vincent Foster: An Investigation is a book written by conservative journalist Christopher Ruddy. ... The Western Journalism Center, founded in 1997 by Joseph Farah and James H. Smith, is the non-profit parent company of WorldNetDaily and has funded conservative causes. ...

References

• Moldea, Dan E. A Washington Tragedy: How the Death of Vincent Foster Ignited a Political Firestorm. Washington: Regnery Publishing, 1998. ISBN 0-89526-382-3.
• Poe, Richard. Hillary's Secret War: The Clinton Conspiracy to Muzzle Internet Journalists. Nashville, TN: WND Books, 2004. ISBN 0-7852-6013-7.
• Stewart, James B. Blood Sport: The President and His Adversaries. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996. ISBN 0-684-80230-9.

Footnotes

July 8 is the 189th day of the year (190th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 176 days remaining. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... October 10 is the 283rd day of the year (284th in leap years). ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article concerns the British newspaper. ... February 2 is the 33rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... May 2 is the 122nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (123rd in leap years). ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... September 28 is the 271st day of the year (272nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... December 8 is the 342nd day (343rd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... December 5 is the 339th day (340th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... January 12 is the 12th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean [1]. // Coated in ice, power and telephone lines sag and often break, resulting in power outages. ... February 19 is the 50th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the Anno Domini (common) era. ... February 20 is the 51st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the Anno Domini (common) era. ... February 26 is the 57th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the Anno Domini (common) era. ...

External links

• Christopher Ruddy’s biography on NewsMax.com.
• Corporate information for Newsmax Media, Inc., from the Florida Department of State.
• Ruddy's political donations at Newsmeat.com.