Vernon E. Jordan Jr., lawyer and D.C. political power broker, dies at 85 - The Washington Post

Jordan was, for years, one of the most influential figures in Washington.

With a commanding presence, personal charm and an inviolable sense of discretion, he had a rare combination of talents that made him the confidant of presidents, congressional leaders, business executives and civil rights figures.

Jordan was the consummate Washington power broker, reaching the peak of his quiet authority during the 1990s, when he was, with the possible exception of Hillary Clinton, President Bill Clinton’s closest adviser.

He had Clinton’s ear through two terms as president, including the most challenging moments, when Clinton faced an investigation and impeachment for a relationship with a White House intern.

“The last thing he’d ever do is betray a friendship,” Clinton said in 1996.

Jordan died March 1 at his home in Washington.

The death was confirmed by his daughter, Vickee Jordan.

He had the moral authority of a veteran of the civil rights movement — he nearly died in a 1980 shooting by a racially motivated would-be assassin — and was adept at navigating corporate boardrooms and golf course fairways, as well as gospel-filled churches.

Jordan outlined an approach to bring the civil rights struggle to the highest levels of government and business.

Jordan came to Washington in 1981, his influence could be felt from Wall Street to Congress to the grass roots of the civil rights movement.

For years, he spent Christmas Eve with Bill and Hillary Clinton, and presidents and billionaires attended his parties.

Jordan made his presence felt in phone calls and cloakroom whispers, in casual clubhouse conversations and across the luncheon table.

Jordan first met Hillary Clinton in 1969, the year she graduated from college, and Bill Clinton in 1973, when he returned to Arkansas from law school at Yale.

He and Bill Clinton had a particularly warm rapport, with a shared Southern heritage and an interest in golf.

After Clinton was elected, Mr.

“I have seen Vernon — too many times to count — help not just young people but any people,” Strauss told The Washington Post in 1998.

Jordan’s presence was what a 1992 Post profile called his “reputation as a lady-killer” — which he declined to discuss, except to say, “I like all kinds of people.

To Clinton, Mr.

The relationship between the president and his counselor faced its most severe test in 1998, when Clinton was being investigated for an alleged relationship with White House intern Monica S.

Jordan made five appearances before a grand jury during the independent counsel investigation of Clinton led by Kenneth W.

Jordan of conspiring with Clinton to obstruct justice, he did not lose his composure.

He never discussed the scandal in public, even after Clinton was acquitted by the Senate.

Jordan was so closely identified with Clinton that, as he later told the Los Angeles Times, “People look at me and believe that I was born January 20, 1993,” the day Clinton took office as president.

Jordan entered law school at Howard University in Washington.

After he was transferred to a hospital in New York, he was visited by Ronald Reagan, then a Republican presidential candidate, and a host of corporate titans as well as religious and civil rights leaders.

Jordan’s civil rights.

Jordan moved to Washington as a senior partner with Akin Gump.

As the Clinton presidency was coming to an end in 2000, Mr.

Jordan took a senior position at the New York investment banking firm of Lazard Frères, for a reported salary of $5 million a year.

He retained his position at Akin Gump — “I’m there every Friday,” he said — and continued to be a presence in Washington.

In addition to his wife, of Washington, survivors include a daughter from his first marriage, Vickee Jordan of Washington; three stepchildren, Toni Cook Bush of Washington, Janice Cook Roberts and Mercer Cook, both of New York; and two grandsons

During the 2008 presidential election, he supported Hillary Clinton over Obama, saying, “I’m too old to trade friendship for race.”

Jordan on the golf course and clearly recognized his eminence

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