Ruddy grew up on Long Island in Williston Park, New York, where his father was a police officer in Nassau County.
[3] He earned a master's degree in public policy from the London School of Economics and also studied at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem as an undergrad.
While with the NY Guardian, Ruddy was credited with debunking a story in the [[Public Broadcasting ServiceI https://www.latimes.com/opinion/la-xpm-2012-feb-01-la-oe-perlman-dachau-20120201-story.html In fact, in 2012, the Los Angeles Times published an article entitled "Race and the liberation of Dachau" by Elliott Perlman, who interviewed the daughter of a Polish Jewish survivor of Dachau, and based on her evidence, her father himself.
Her father confirmed, as an eyewitness to the liberation of Dachau, what Paul Parks had described in the documentary that Ruddy had claimed to be without evidence.
After initially writing about abuse of Social Security disability benefits, he focused on the Whitewater scandal involving then-president Bill Clinton.
Ruddy serves on the board of directors of the Financial Publishers Association (FIPA),[9] an industry trade group whose goal is "to share knowledge of best business practices to help our members' publications grow and prosper, while empowering readers with unbiased, independent information".
[10] He is a member of the International Council, chaired by Henry Kissinger, at the CSIS, a bipartisan Washington, D.C., think tank focused on national security and foreign affairs.
[11] Ruddy also served as a representative on the U.S. delegation headed by Senators Joseph Lieberman and Lindsey Graham to the NATO 44th Munich Security Conference.
[12] From 2009 to 2013, Ruddy served on the board of directors of the American Swiss Foundation, a nonprofit organization that fosters relations between the two countries.
[19] New York Post editor Eric Breindel recommended Ruddy for a job at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review owned by Richard Mellon Scaife.
[21] 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.
"[27] 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.
[citation needed] Ruddy ended his investigative reporting after founding Newsmax, but continues to write an occasional blog while he shapes overall editorial policy.
The Palm Beach Post interview also noted that Ruddy, disenchanted by the war and runaway federal spending under Bush, re-evaluated the Clinton years and offered a kinder view of the administration he once criticized.
"[32] During a 2010 campaign swing through Florida, President Clinton departed from his schedule to make a visit to Newsmax's offices in West Palm Beach.
I applaud the Clinton Foundation for bringing together groups and individuals from all sides of the political spectrum to build a world that's more equal, more sustainable, and that benefits us all.
[39] On June 12, 2017, Ruddy claimed that Trump met with Robert Mueller to offer him the job of FBI Director just days before it was announced that he would be appointed special counsel for the Russian investigation.