Christopher Miller, who just said he couldn’t wait to leave his job just two days before, ordered the head of the NSA to install Michael Ellis as general counsel until 6pm on Saturday, but NSA director General Paul Nakasone did not act on the data. the deadline, making it unclear what Miller or the White House would do.
Ellis was first chosen for the job in early November, just two days after Joe Biden was declared the winner of the presidential election and amid a political purge of different agencies, including the Department of Defense.
The Pentagon declined to comment. This story was first reported by the Washington Post.
But Ellis’s installation stopped, according to the Washington Post, because of administrative procedures, including the need for a polygraph test, leaving Miller to pressure him in the last days of Trump’s four years in office.
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 experience of the candidate, the reported qualifications of the other finalists and press reports of White House involvement create a perception that political influence or considerations may have played an undue role on a merit – based on 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 National Security Council, refusing to testify as part of the 2019 impeachment investigation. In March 2020, Ellis became the senior director of intelligence at the NSC, joining others loyal to Trump in key intelligence positions.
But the attempt to transfer Ellis to the NSA is different, because the general council of the country’s largest intelligence agency is a civil servant position, not a political nominee. This makes Ellis more difficult to fire after the Biden government arrives, the sources said, adding that the strategy is called “digging”.
Ellis said, “I don’t speak to the press, thanks” and hung up when contacted by the Washington Post. CNN was unable to contact Ellis.
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. 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 in November, 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 Saturday on Twitter.
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