Eldon Dean Rudd (July 15, 1920February 8, 2002) was a

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

Early life

Rudd was born in

Camp Verde, Arizona Camp Verde ( yuf-x-yav, ʼMatthi:wa; Western Apache: Gambúdih) is a town in Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population of the town is 10,873. The town hosts an annual corn festival in July, sponsored and or ...

. A 1939 graduate of Clarkdale High School in

Clarkdale, Arizona Clarkdale (Yavapai: Saupkasuiva) is a town in Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. The Verde River flows through the town as does Bitter Creek, an intermittent tributary of the river. According to the 2010 census, the population of the town ...

, he enlisted in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

in 1942 and served as a fighter pilot during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. After his discharge in 1946, he attended Arizona State College, from which he graduated in 1947, and the

University of Arizona Law School University of Arizona 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. Also known as University of Ar ...

in Tucson.

Years in FBI

After a brief period in private practice, Rudd became a special agent for the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

in 1950. As the only FBI field agent in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, fluent in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

in 1954, Rudd participated in the interrogation of the Puerto Rican nationalists involved in the attack on the US House of Representatives that year. His report impressed Director

J. Edgar Hoover John Edgar Hoover (January 1, 1895 – May 2, 1972) was an American law enforcement administrator who served as the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He was appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation � ...

, who offered Rudd his next choice of assignment, which he received as U.S. legal

attaché In diplomacy, an attaché is a person who is assigned ("to be attached") to the diplomatic or administrative staff of a higher placed person or another service or agency. Although a loanword from French, in English the word is not modified accord ...

at the

U.S. Embassy The United States has the second most Diplomatic mission, diplomatic missions of any country in the world List of diplomatic missions of China, after Mainland China, including 166 of the 193 member countries of the United Nations, as well as obse ...

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...

, where he served from 1960 to 1970. When

assassin Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have a ...

Lee Harvey Oswald Lee Harvey Oswald (October 18, 1939 – November 24, 1963) was a U.S. Marine veteran who assassinated John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, on November 22, 1963. Oswald was placed in juvenile detention at the age of 12 fo ...

shot and killed President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

, on November 22, 1963, Rudd was ordered by Hoover to collect from the

Mexican government The Federal government of Mexico (alternately known as the Government of the Republic or ' or ') is the national government of the United Mexican States, the central government established by its constitution to share sovereignty over the republi ...

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 The Fair Play for Cuba Committee (FPCC) was an activist group set up in New York City by Robert Taber in April 1960. History The FPCC's purpose was to provide grassroots support for the Cuban Revolution against attacks by the United States gove ...

, Oswald's several trips to and from Cuba, and his arrest in Mexico City. Rudd obtained Oswald's file from the Mexican government and 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 Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

and widow Jacqueline Kennedy.

Political career

President Ronald Reagan during a photo opportunity with Congressman Eldon Rudd

After leaving the FBI in 1970, Rudd moved to

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, where he became involved in politics. He was elected to the board of supervisors for

Maricopa County Maricopa County is in the south-central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,420,568, making it the state's most populous county, and the fourth-most populous in the United States. It contains about ...

in 1972. Four years later, he won election to the House of Representatives for Arizona's 4th congressional district, which then comprised the entire northeastern portion of the state. However, the bulk of its population was in the northern portion of the

Valley of the Sun A valley is an elongated low area often running between Hill, hills or Mountain, mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers ...

. He defeated

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Tony Mason by only 707 votes. While Mason carried four of the district's five counties, he could not overcome a 17,100-vote deficit in the district's share of

, which had more people than the rest of the district combined. He was easily re-elected four times, each time with more than 60 percent of the vote, and in 1984, he was completely unopposed. Rudd was a

fiscal conservative Fiscal conservatism is a political and economic philosophy regarding fiscal policy and fiscal responsibility with an ideological basis in capitalism, individualism, limited government, and ''laissez-faire'' economics.M. O. Dickerson et al., ''A ...

, and a member of the important Appropriations Committee for five years; he opposed the expenditure of federal taxpayer dollars for

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...

s. A staunch anticommunist, Rudd was a tireless supporter of US anticommunist efforts in Central and South America, and he was the last American to visit with

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the countr ...

n President Anastasio Somoza Debayle, who was killed by

Sandinista The Sandinista National Liberation Front ( es, Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional, FSLN) is a socialist political party in Nicaragua. Its members are called Sandinistas () in both English and Spanish. The party is named after Augusto C� ...

forces. During the 1980 presidential election, Rudd, with help from FBI colleagues with access to security officials at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

, allegedly obtained debate preparation documents prepared for President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 1 ...

for his election debates against Republican nominee Ronald Reagan and provided the so-called "Carter debate papers" to the Reagan presidential campaign in the Debategate scandal.

Later years

Rudd retired from Congress in 1987 and took a position with the Salt River Project. Remaining active in Republican politics, he served as campaign manager for Doug Wead during Wead's unsuccessful 1992 run for

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 County. It consists mostly of the northeastern suburbs of Phoenix, including Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, ...

. Rudd died in

Scottsdale, Arizona , settlement_type = City , named_for = Winfield Scott , image_skyline = , image_seal = Seal of Scottsdale (Arizona).svg , image_blank_emblem = City of Scottsdale Script Logo.svg , nick ...

; his remains were cremated, with the ashes interred in the

National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona, also known as Arizona Veterans Memorial Cemetery, 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 interm ...

References

External links

Retrieved on 2009-02-12 * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rudd, Eldon 1920 births 2002 deaths United States Marine Corps pilots of World War II Arizona State University alumni Federal Bureau of Investigation agents James E. Rogers College of Law alumni People from Yavapai County, Arizona American World War II fighter pilots County supervisors in Arizona Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Arizona Burials in Arizona 20th-century American politicians