House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) sent a letter Sunday to Acting Department of Defense Secretary Christopher C. Miller demanding an immediate halt to installing Michael Ellis as the new National Security Agency General Counsel prior to the the final days of the Trump administration.
“I ask that you immediately cease plans to improperly install Michael Ellis as the new NSA General Counsel,” Pelosi wrote, claiming Ellis is a “unqualified Trump-loyalist”, appearing to be worried over the president’s selection process.
Nancy Pelosi also vented her frustration over the appointment of Michael Ellis in a tweet on Monday, writing, “The attempt to install an unqualified Trump loyalist as NSA General Counsel just 72 hours prior to the start of a new Administration is highly irregular and highly suspect. This placement should not move forward.”
The attempt to install an unqualified Trump loyalist as NSA General Counsel just 72 hours prior to the start of a new Administration is highly irregular and highly suspect. This placement should not move forward.
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) January 18, 2021
In her letter to acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller, Pelosi argued that Michael Ellis’s last-minute appointment showed a “disturbing disregard for our national security.”
“Public reporting indicates that Mr. Ellis, a relatively recent law school graduate with a limited resume, was selected due to interference by the White House, and was chosen over much more qualified candidates,” she wrote.
“Moreover, Mr. Ellis has been reportedly involved in highly questionable activities that are disqualifying – including the infamous 2017 ‘midnight run’ to launder intelligence information through Rep. Devin Nunes and with efforts to shield information about President Trump’s July 2019 call with the President of Ukraine,” Pelosi claimed. Continued Below
“The NSA General Counsel, which involves supervising many intelligence community attorneys and interacting with intelligence agencies, is a highly sensitive career position for which candidates are selected, based on merit and free from political influence,” Speaker Pelosi continued. “If Mr. Ellis did go through the traditional civil service hiring process, I request a detailed account of that process, to understand how someone with his credentials was chosen over other qualified candidates.”
“If Mr. Ellis did go through the traditional civil service hiring process, I request a detailed account of that process, to understand how someone with his credentials was chosen over other qualified candidates,” she added.
An NSA spokesperson confirmed on Saturday that Ellis would be installed as general counsel for the agency less than a week before President Trump leaves office, as reported by The Hill.
“Mr. Ellis accepted his final job offer yesterday afternoon,” an NSA official told the Washington Examiner on Sunday. “NSA is moving forward with his employment.” Video Below
Read my full letter to Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller here: https://t.co/FAfwMllGEv
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) January 18, 2021
Meanwhile on Monday, MSNBC also appeared panicked over the the appointment of Michael Ellis as the new National Security Agency General Counsel.
“This person has to go regardless of whether he’s a civil servant or not. Let’s have the lawsuit about it later. Joe Biden needs to remove him on day one,” said Frank Figliuzzi, an MSNBC columnist and a national security contributor for NBC News and MSNBC.
MSNBC’s: Figliuzzi: Trump installing Michael Ellis as NSA general counsel so he can assume a “deep state posture.”
"This person has to go regardless of whether he’s a civil servant or not. Let’s have the lawsuit about it later. Joe Biden needs to remove him on day one." pic.twitter.com/KyA4odMirY
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) January 18, 2021
