NSA places former GOP political agent as top lawyer post after Pentagon chief’s order

The National Security Agency (NSA) made a former GOP political agent their main lawyer days earlier President TrumpDonald TrumpFacebook Temporarily Bans Ads For Weapon Accessories Following Capitol Sasse Riots, In Fiery Editorial Says QAnon Destroys Section 230 Of The GOP That Worked After The Insurgency But Not Before: How To Regulate social media LEARN MORE is stepping down, apparently following an order from Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller.

An NSA spokesperson confirmed that the agency was installing Michael Ellis, a member of the National Security Council (NSC), as general counsel.

The Washington Post reported that Miller ordered NSA Director Paul Nakasone to elevate Ellis to General Counsel to do so by 6 p.m. Saturday.

“Mr. Ellis accepted his last job offer yesterday afternoon,” an NSA spokesperson told The Hill in a statement Sunday. “The NSA is moving forward with his job.”

Pentagon attorney general Paul Ney announced in November that Ellis would become the NSA’s attorney general, but he had not yet started the job due to administrative procedures.

Ellis, a former chief lawyer for Rep. Devin NunesDevin Gerald Nunes CIA chief threatened to resign after pushing to install Trump loyalist as MP: report Bill Belichick denies Trump Medal of Freedom Trump gives Medal of Freedom to House ally , Jim Jordan MORE (R-Calif.) Who later joined the White House, will begin in the role on Tuesday, a source familiar told CNN.

The installation takes place a few days before the elected president Joe bidenJoe Biden, Missouri Woman Seen With Pelosi Sign Charged In Capitol Riots Facebook Temporarily Bans Ads For Weapon Accessories In The Following Capitol Riotsand will complicate the potential efforts of the new administration to replace him immediately, as the career post in the civil service makes it difficult to dismiss its occupant. But the new administration could reassign him to another post, The New York Times noted.

Sources told The Times and The Post that Nakasone did not support Ellis’ appointment over other career managers at the agency.

The NSA director and others are said to have feared the White House attempted to “dig” Ellis into the post against a policy that prevents an administration from hiring a political agent to career civilian positions before a transfer of power.

But a US official told the Post that the Bureau of Personnel Management told Nakasone that the policy does not apply to employees of the intelligence community.

A Defense Department spokesperson said that the department’s attorney general functions as “the sole selection post” for the NSA’s attorney general.

“The NSA director does not select or approve applicants for the post of NSA legal director,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

“Once a candidate is selected on the merit system, receives an offer and meets the requirements to be listed for the position, if that entry does not occur, it exposes the department, the Agency and senior management to claims for violation of the principles of the merit system and of the processes designed to protect participants in such selections, ”the statement added.

“To be clear, the interest of Congress or the media in a particular hiring action does not justify, under the principles and process of the merit system, delaying the placement of a selected qualified person in a position” , he concludes.

When contacted by phone, Ellis told The Post, “I’m not talking to the press, thank you,” and hung up.

Ellis, who joined the White House in 2017 and became a lawyer in the NSC in 2019, overturned an official’s decision to fire the former national security adviser. John boltonJohn Bolton Post-Insurgency: The National Security Implications McConnell Will Not Resume Role As Chief Advocate Of Trump Cyber ​​Tsar To Build On New Powers Of Defense Bill MOREbook for publication, according to the Times.