Lawrence Walsh

Lawrence Edward Walsh (January 8, 1912 – March 19, 2014) was an American lawyer and judge who was United States Deputy Attorney General from 1957 to 1961 and a judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. He was appointed Independent Counsel in December 1986 to investigate the Iran–Contra affair during the Reagan Administration.

Early life and career

Walsh was born in Port Maitland, Nova Scotia, Canada, the son of Cornelius Edward (1879–1927) and Lila May (Sanders) Walsh. His father was a family doctor and his grandfather was a sea captain. Walsh grew up in Queens, New York, and became a naturalized citizen at the age of 10. He graduated from Flushing High School.

Federal judicial service

Walsh was nominated by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on April 6, 1954, to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, to a new seat authorized by 68 Stat. 8. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on April 27, 1954, and received his commission the next day. His service terminated on December 29, 1957, due to his resignation, having served only three and one-half years as a judge. Judge Thomas F. Hogan dismissed the October indictment two months later for being outside the statute of limitations. Weinberger's subsequent pardon by President George H. W. Bush in December 1992 preempted any trial. Walsh steadfastly denied that the investigation was politically motivated, while Bush and others criticized it as "the criminalization of policy differences." Walsh described having a fictional character based upon him as "flattering" during an August 2013 interview.

Personal life and death

In his senior year of college, Walsh began to date Maxine Winton of Tampa, Florida, a former Barnard College student then attending Columbia Business School. They were married from 1936 until her death from cancer, at age 52, in 1964. In 1965, Walsh married Mary Alma Porter; they were married until her death on December 22, 2012. He was the father of five children — Barbara, Janet, Dale, Sara and Elizabeth.

On January 8, 2012, Walsh celebrated his 100th birthday. On March 19, 2014, Walsh died at the age of 102 in Oklahoma City.