Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, March 22, 1993 TAG: 9303220093
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C2 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: The Washington Post
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
WILDER'S IRE AIMED AT LAWYER
Virginia Gov. Douglas Wilder, still angry that his Democratic rival, Sen. Charles Robb, was not indicted over a recorded phone call of Wilder's, has asked a congressional panel to reject the expected nomination of Robb's criminal defense attorney, Charles H.C. Ruff, to a top Justice Department post.The Clinton administration's selection of Ruff, a Washington lawyer, as deputy attorney general "would send . . . dangerous signals that could damage the integrity of the Justice Department and the Clinton administration," Wilder's press secretary, Glenn Davidson, wrote in a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee. The committee reviews nominations for top federal positions.
Davidson said Ruff was "instrumental in persuading the Bush administration Justice Department to take extraordinary steps to preclude an indictment of the senator."
Ruff, reached at his office Saturday, said he did not want to get into a debate with Wilder. The former U.S. attorney for the district said that if Clinton nominates him for the No. 2 post at Justice, he would "do what is appropriate, including responding" to Wilder's complaints.
A 23-month-long federal investigation into the recording and distribution of a 1988 cellular phone conversation between Wilder and a political ally ended Wednesday with the sentencing of Bruce Thompson, the fifth associate of Robb's to be convicted in the case. Prosecutors had notified Robb that he was a target of the probe, but in January, after Robb was given a second chance to testify before the grand jury and a Justice official made a rare appearance before the panel, jurors voted not to indict the senator.
At a news conference Thursday, Wilder denounced Robb as unfit for public office, and added that although Robb got off "scot-free . . . there can be no doubt that he is a co-conspirator."
Robb said in a statement Saturday that "the governor's analysis and interpretation of events are simply incorrect on all points."
Davidson's letter, which was faxed Friday to Cynthia Hogan, chief counsel to the Judiciary Committee, said that "Mr. Ruff's insider ties may be viewed as a plus to his clients, but as a member of the administration, the many personal favors gained for his clients may create undue pressure on Mr. Ruff that would forsake his ability to prosecute ethics violations."
The "most troublesome" aspect of naming Ruff as the day-to-day head of Justice would be that he would have oversight over the Internal Revenue Service, Davidson said.
On Thursday, Wilder said the IRS audited his tax return the year he was elected governor. Wilder attempted to link the audit with Robb by pointing out that the senator's former chief of staff, David McCloud, who also pleaded guilty in the taping incident, had been tape-recorded as saying that he was prepared to use the IRS against Robb's enemies.
"It would be unfortunate to see President Clinton's outstanding selection for attorney general, Janet Reno, overshadowed by a controversy surrounding an undersecretary," Davidson wrote.
"If this nomination takes place," Davidson concluded, "Governor Wilder requests to appear before the committee to state these positions publicly."
Memo: shorter version ran in the Metro edition.