Anthony Lapham, 70; was CIA’s top lawyer

Anthony Abbot Lapham, a former general counsel at the Central Intelligence Agency, died of a heart attack Nov. 11 while trout fishing on the Cane River near Asheville, N.C. He was 70.

Lapham was the third general counsel in the agency’s history and the first brought in from outside.

“Tony was CIA’s chief legal officer during a period of momentous change and challenges for the agency, and he carried out his responsibilities with extraordinary skill and integrity,” Air Force Gen. Michael V. Hayden, director of the CIA, said in a statement.

That period came in the mid-1970s following congressional hearings chaired by Sen. Frank Church (D-Idaho). The committee investigated the alleged involvement of the nation’s intelligence agencies in assassination attempts against foreign leaders, spying on U.S. citizens and other illegal activities.

Appointed general counsel in 1976 during the tenure of Director George H.W. Bush, Lapham served until 1979 under Bush’s successor, Navy Adm. Stansfield Turner.

According to John Rizzo, the CIA’s acting general counsel, Lapham was the first agency general counsel to sit in on meetings of CIA agents. “He insisted that there be an operational presence,” Rizzo said. “To establish that beachhead was critical. He was responsible for that.”

Lapham was “unbelievably apolitical,” said his son, Nicholas Lapham. This, he said, was in striking contrast to his father’s elder brother, Lewis H. Lapham, the essayist and recently retired editor of Harper’s magazine.

“He served under both Republicans and Democrats at the CIA, and he had friends who were Republicans and friends who were Democrats,” his son said.

Shortly after Lapham left the agency, he represented Geraldine Ferraro, the New York congresswoman and 1984 Democratic vice presidential candidate, in a high-profile case involving her husband’s business dealings, his son noted.

“Partisanship wasn’t in his nature,” Nicholas Lapham said.

Born in San Francisco, Lapham graduated from Yale and received a law degree from Georgetown University. His early government jobs included work with the Treasury Department and as an assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia.

In addition to his son and brother, he is survived by his wife, Burk; another son, David A. Lapham; and two grandchildren.