Nakasone had agreed to install Ellis as general counsel just days earlier under orders from Trump’s acting defense secretary. The Pentagon general counsel, under White House pressure, named Ellis in November to lead the NSA’s legal department. One was the acting NSA general counsel; the other was acting general counsel at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Ellis joined the Trump White House in early 2017, becoming a lawyer on the National Security Council. Before that, he was chief counsel to Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), a staunch Trump supporter who at the time was chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.

Source: Washington Post April 17, 2021 21:01 UTC