Russell A. Rourke counselor John O. Marsh. In 1976, he became a special assistant to President Gerald R. Ford. His responsibilities included legislative liaison between the White House and Congress. After President Ford lost his bid for re-election in 1977, Rourke serve on the White House Transition Team. At the close of the Ford Administration, Rourke accepted a position as administrative assistant to Republican Congressman Harold S. Sawyer of Michigan. In May 1981, President Reagan nominated Rourke as assistant secretary for legislative affairs in the Department of Defense. In that capacity, Rourke was the principal adviser to Secretary of Defense Caspar W. Weinberger
Gerald Ford assassination attempt in Sacramento Ford gave a videotape testimony from the White House as a defense witness in the trial of Fromme. The testimony was the first time a U.S. President testified at a criminal trial. On November 4, the prosecutors were ready to present about 1,000 items of evidence seized from Fromme's car and apartment just after the assassination attempt, including .45-caliber ammunition in the box she took from Boro and the book, "The Modern Handgun". During the trial, Fromme refused to cooperate with her own defense, going so far as to throw an apple at prosecuting U.S. attorney Dwayne Keyes after he