Rizzo, John

Acting General Counsel and Senior Deputy General of the Central Intelligence Agency through July 2009 when he was repolaced by Stephen Preston.

(Mr. Rizzo, employed by the CIA since 1976, has previously served in other CIA leadership positions, including Deputy General Counsel for Operations and Deputy Director of the Office of Congressional Affairs.)

Rizzo was waist deep in the Iran/Contra affair in the 1980s providing support to the Contras.

No Reason Rizzo, 16x24, Oil on canvas, Sandra Koponen © 2015CIAJohn Rizzo, CIA, Senior Deputy Legal Counsel Mar. 1995 - Nov. 2001, Oct. 2002 - Aug. 2004 CIA, Acting General Counsel Nov. 2001 - Oct. 2002, Aug. 2004 - Sept. 2009As the senior legal adviser to the CIA, Rizzo repeatedly asked for approval from the Office of Legal Counsel for the CIA’s use of “enhanced interrogation techniques,” many of which amounted to torture. He wrote in his memoir that he sought approval in order to obtain “legal cover.” As part of the requests, Rizzo’s office provided still-secret documents to the OLC regarding the specific application of the techniques, and their alleged effectiveness and safety.Rizzo helped draft Bush’s still-secret order authorizing the CIA to establish secret detention facilities overseas and to interrogate detainees. He visited Guantanamo Bay in September 2002, with Addington, Gonzales and Haynes, reportedly to observe interrogations and inquire about the interrogation of Mohammed al-Qahtani, who was later subjected to a brutal 50-plus day interrogation. Rizzo also visited two CIA black sites in 2005 to assure CIA personnel that their work was “still fully endorsed by the nation’s highest legal and policy-making officials.”**https://www.aclu.org/infographic/infographic-torture-architects

CIA

John Rizzo, CIA, Senior Deputy Legal Counsel Mar. 1995 - Nov. 2001, Oct. 2002 - Aug. 2004 CIA, Acting General Counsel Nov. 2001 - Oct. 2002, Aug. 2004 - Sept. 2009

As the senior legal adviser to the CIA, Rizzo repeatedly asked for approval from the Office of Legal Counsel for the CIA’s use of “enhanced interrogation techniques,” many of which amounted to torture. He wrote in his memoir that he sought approval in order to obtain “legal cover.” As part of the requests, Rizzo’s office provided still-secret documents to the OLC regarding the specific application of the techniques, and their alleged effectiveness and safety.

Rizzo helped draft Bush’s still-secret order authorizing the CIA to establish secret detention facilities overseas and to interrogate detainees. He visited Guantanamo Bay in September 2002, with Addington, Gonzales and Haynes, reportedly to observe interrogations and inquire about the interrogation of Mohammed al-Qahtani, who was later subjected to a brutal 50-plus day interrogation. Rizzo also visited two CIA black sites in 2005 to assure CIA personnel that their work was “still fully endorsed by the nation’s highest legal and policy-making officials.”

**https://www.aclu.org/infographic/infographic-torture-architects