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Monday November 20 3:32 AM ET
Former White House Aide Charles Ruff Dead

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (Reuters) - Former White House counsel Charles Ruff, who defended President Clinton (news - web sites) during his impeachment proceedings and won his acquittal by the Senate in February 1999, died on Sunday, the White House said.

Ruff was 61.

Clinton was informed of Ruff's death as he departed Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska on his way home to Washington after a lengthy trip to Asia, White House spokesman Jake Siewert told reporters traveling with the president.

Siewert said the president was told that Ruff had died after an accident at his house, but further details about the noted lawyer's death were not available.

Clinton called Ruff's wife from aboard Air Force One to express his condolences, Siewert said.

Ruff, who left his White House post in the summer of 1999, was Clinton's fifth White House counsel in four years.

``Hillary and I were deeply saddened to learn of the death of Charles F.C. Ruff who served as my White House counsel from 1997 to 1999,'' the president said in a statement released by the White House.

``All of us at the White House admired Chuck for the power of his advocacy, the wisdom of his judgement and the strength of his leadership,'' the president said.

``We loved him for his generous spirit and his keen wit, which he used to find humor in even the most challenging circumstances,'' he said.

Ruff returned to the Washington law firm of Covington & Burling in August 1999, after a four-year absence in which he served for 18 months as corporation counsel for the District of Columbia and then White House counsel.

Before joining the firm in 1982, Ruff was the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, and previously served as associate deputy and acting deputy attorney general; deputy inspector general of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare; and special prosecutor for the Watergate Special Prosecution Force.

He also taught on the faculties of the Georgetown University Law Center, Antioch Law School, the University of Pennsylvania Law School, and the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law in Monrovia, Liberia.

Ruff graduated from Swarthmore College in 1960 and from Columbia Law School in 1963, and held honorary degrees from Swarthmore and from Georgetown University.

In September 1999, he became chairman of the board of directors of the Fair Labor Association, an organization of NGOs, apparel and footwear manufacturers, and universities established to address working conditions in factories around the world.

White House Counsel Beth Nolan, who succeeded Ruff, described him as ``an absolutely amazing advocate who had great integrity and ... really steered by his own star.''

Nolan praised Ruff's defense of Clinton, only the second U.S. president ever to be impeached, but said his achievements went far beyond that historic and well-publicized case.

``He showed the world what a terrific lawyer he was in that moment, but he was that kind of lawyer all the time,'' said Nolan.

Many disabled Americans embraced Ruff, who had used a wheelchair since he was paralyzed as a young man, as a powerful role model during the impeachment trial.

Clinton said Ruff had ``an extraordinary and distinguished career'' in private practice and during many years of public service.

``We will miss his counsel and friendship greatly,'' the president said, extending his and his wife's condolences to Ruff's wife, Sue, his daughters, Carin and Christy, and his mother, Margaret.