R.I.P.

John Rizzo, CIA Torture Lawyer, Dies at 73

The attorney was one of the principal legal architects of the CIA’s most controversial programs over his 30-year career as a “company man.”

John Rizzo, a longtime top lawyer for the CIA, died last week in Washington, D.C., his son announced Thursday. Rizzo was 73, and the cause of death is not yet known. The attorney was one of the principal legal architects of the CIA’s most controversial programs during his 30-year career as a self-described “company man:” drone strikes, torture christened by the euphemism “enhanced interrogation,” and proxy warfare. Rizzo was named acting general counsel for the CIA after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and served in the role for six years but was ultimately denied Senate confirmation in 2007 over his role in the CIA’s detention and torture program of prisoners of wars in the Middle East.