Acting secretary of defense orders NSA chief to install Trump loyalist as agency's general counsel

[Poiuyt]

The acting secretary of defense is trying to install a Trump loyalist as the top lawyer at the National Security Agency, according to three sources familiar.

Christopher Miller, who just two days earlier said he couldn't wait to leave his job, ordered the head of the NSA to install Michael Ellis as general counsel by 6 p.m., Saturday, but NSA Director Gen. Paul Nakasone did not act by the given deadline, leaving it unclear what Miller or the White House would do.

Within days of Ellis' being picked for the job in November, which came shortly after President Donald Trump fired then-Defense Secretary Mark Esper via Twitter, Democratic Sens. Mark Warner and Jack Reed requested an investigation from the Pentagon's acting inspector general, saying in a letter, "The combination of timing, comparative lack of experience of the candidate, the reported qualifications of the other finalists, and press accounts of White House involvement create a perception that political influence or considerations may have played an undue role in a merit-based civil service selection process."

Before joining the Trump administration, Ellis served as the head counsel to California Rep. Devin Nunes, one of Trump's staunchest supporters. Ellis then became a lawyer with the National Security Council, refusing to testify as part of the House's 2019 impeachment inquiry. In March 2020, Ellis became the senior director for intelligence on the NSC, joining other Trump loyalists in key intelligence positions.

But the attempt to shift Ellis to the NSA is different, because the general counsel at the country's largest intelligence agency is a civil servant position, not a political appointee. This makes Ellis harder to fire once the Biden administration comes in, the sources said, adding that the strategy is called "burrowing."

https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/16/politics/nsa-counsel-michael-ellis-christopher-miller/index.html

[2naSalit]

1. He won't last after the...

Sweep for insurrectionists comes through.

[Phoenix61]

2. I don't think that 4-Star general gives 3 shits what

Christopher Miller wants. If Ellis has any sense at all, doubtful I know, he’ll stay where he is. He’s ridiculously unqualified for the position and he’ll have a bullseye on his back.