“Mr. Ellis accepted his final job offer yesterday afternoon. The NSA is moving forward with his job,” said an NSA spokesman in a statement. Ellis will begin his new role on Tuesday, according to a known source.
Ellis, who was a lawyer for the NSC, had been appointed to the position in November, but the NSA had not yet transferred him to the position. The Washington Post and CNN reported on Saturday that Miller, who was appointed interim defense secretary as part of an agency purge after the election, ordered Nakasone to put him in office, giving him a deadline on Saturday night.
“The Department of Defense General Counsel is the sole selection authority for the position of General Counsel for the National Security Agency – as well as all other senior career DoD General Counsel positions,” according to a statement by the Department of Defense. Defense. “The NSA Director does not select or approve candidates for the position of NSA General Counsel.”
The change is significant because the role of the attorney general in the country’s largest intelligence agency is a civil service position, not a political role, meaning it can be difficult for the Biden government to remove Ellis. The strategy of trying to install political supporters in career positions is known as “burrowing” in the government.
The Pentagon declined to comment on Saturday when news of the deadline broke.
A few days after Ellis was chosen for the position in November, which happened shortly after President Donald Trump sacked then Defense Secretary Mark Esper via Twitter, Democratic Sens. Mark Warner and Jack Reed requested an investigation by the Pentagon’s interim inspector general, saying in a letter, “The combination of time, comparative lack of candidate experience, the qualifications reported from the other finalists, and press reports on the White House’s involvement create a perception that political influence or considerations may have played an undue role in a process based on the merit of the public service selection process. ”
Prior to joining the Trump administration, Ellis served as chief advisor to Rep. Devin Nunes of California, one of Trump’s most loyal supporters. Ellis then became a lawyer for the NSC, refusing to testify as part of the 2019 House impeachment investigation. In March 2020, Ellis became the senior director of intelligence at the NSC, joining other Trump loyalists in positions of intelligence.
When contacted by The Washington Post on Saturday, Ellis said, “I don’t speak to the press, thank you” and hung up. CNN was unable to contact Ellis for comment.
Susan Hennessey, a former NSA attorney and CNN legal and national security analyst, made the decision to install Ellis last weekend in the ruling Trump administration. “At this point, no one should extend this selection process with the benefit of the doubt. Apparently, the Trump administrator is violating public service rules and politicizing an apolitical role. If Ellis is installed tonight, Biden should remove him. it on the first day, “she wrote on Twitter.
The NSA’s general council is not a position confirmed by the Senate, Hennessey explained in his Lawfare blog, which removes a step from Congressional oversight that exists for functions as general counsel for the CIA, Pentagon or Office of the Director of National Intelligence. The purpose of this process was to remove any political bias in nominating a candidate for one of the key positions in the NSA.
“This is a very difficult, very important job and we have a process to ensure that only qualified individuals are in the role * WHY * this is necessary for the national security of the United States.”
Hennessey wrote on Twitter.
This story was updated with a statement from the Department of Defense.
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