[7] In 2013, he appeared as a contestant on Jeopardy! White House official and former GOP political operative Michael Ellis named as NSA general counsel Boeing engine failure: Engine on United Airlines flight was showing signs of … In March 2017, he gained publicity for his involvement in a questionable episode involving Nunes, who was given access at the White House to intelligence files that Nunes believed would buttress his baseless claims of the Obama administration spying on Trump Tower. [27] Rep. Nunes and the White House subsequently used this information in an attempt to derail the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election and to support Trump's allegation that he was spied upon. Ellis was selected over two other finalists: acting NSA general counsel Teisha Anthony and Bradley Brooker, acting general counsel at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. people phone reverse address business Log In Sign Up. The selection of Michael Ellis, which has not yet been announced, was made Monday, said officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. Updated 12:26 PM ET, Tue March 3, 2020 Washington (CNN) White House lawyer Michael Ellis has been named senior director for intelligence on … [22][54][18] The NSA position was within the federal civil service, which would allow Ellis to remain beyond the end of the Trump administration, though he was seen as a political appointee. On April 27, 2020, after months of discussion, Bolton was told by Ellen Knight, NSC's senior director for prepublication review, that no other classification issues remained. "[57], Four days before Trump was set to leave office in January 2021, acting defense secretary Christopher Miller ordered the NSA to install Ellis by 6pm on January 16, 2021. The appointment was made under pressure from the White House, said a person familiar with the matter. Installs Trump Loyalist as Top Lawyer Days Before Biden Takes Office", "Bolton Is Willing to Testify in Trump Impeachment Trial, Raising Pressure for Witnesses", "White House has issued formal threat to Bolton to keep him from publishing book", "Justice Dept. Ellis graduated from Yale Law School in 2011 and clerked for Judge Jeffrey Sutton of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit and Judge Amul Thapar of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky. Show full articles without "Continue Reading" button for {0} hours. [55] NSA Director Nakasone did not honor Miller's request by the deadline, as he was still not in favor of Ellis's selection. Michael Ellis is Special Assistant to the President, Senior Associate Counsel to the President, and Deputy National Security Council Legal Advisor. Michael Ellis is Senior Associate Counsel and Special Assistant to the President. [21][22], Ellis served as the senior associate counsel to President Trump and deputy legal advisor to the National Security Council (NSC). Ellis was not a newcomer to the Trump White House. "[14] Ellis' tenure at the Review was marked by his criticism of the policies of the Dartmouth administration, which he viewed as indicative of liberal excesses. [53] He did not immediately assume the position, and NSA director Paul Nakasone opposed the appointment. michael ellis yevgeny windman yevgeny windman whistleblower complaint michael ellis nsa christopher miller orders nsa to hire michael ellis national security council national security agency john bolton ukraine transcript pelosi letter michael ellis ryan goodman susan hennessey civil service protections white house. After twenty years of service, he retired from the navy as a Senior Chief Petty Officer - submarine qualified. Gerstell practiced law for nearly 40 years at an international law firm, Milbank LLP, where he had been managing partner of the firm’s Washington office and led its Singapore and Hong Kong offices. Share. Most recently, Mr. Ellis served as General Counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. In 2007–2008 he was the deputy director of strategy in Boston for Mitt Romney's presidential campaign. [29] According to the U.S. official, Cohen-Watnick had not been involved in passing the material to Nunes, did not clear Nunes onto the White House grounds, did not review the material with Nunes, and was not aware that the material was going to be shared with Nunes. At the time he was working as White House senior director for intelligence - a political position. [37][38] Ellis conducted the review from May 2 to June 9, before he had received training in how to conduct such reviews. Michael also served shore tours in Europe, Western Pacific, and Central America. Michael Ellis, a deputy to White House lawyer John Eisenberg, started in the role on Monday, according to a senior administration official and a former national security official. The Pentagon and White House did not respond to a request for comment. '"[15], A frequent subject of Ellis' critique in his Review articles is what he describes as "the administration's culture of secrecy." As general counsel, he will no longer be a presidential appointee, but a senior civil servant with civil service protections. The NSA declined to comment. [17][8], He served as chief counsel to Rep. Devin Nunes and the Republican majority on the U.S. House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. His installation as the general counsel of the National Security Agency (NSA) during the closing days of the Trump administration, over the objections of the Director of the NSA and in obedience to a direct order from the acting Secretary of Defense, sparked controversy. Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller is trying to install a Trump loyalist, Michael Ellis, as the top lawyer at the National Security Agency, according to three sources familiar. [20] In 2017, Ellis achieved notoriety as one of two aides who assisted Rep. Nunes get access to classified information suggesting that Donald Trump's pre-election communications may have been collected by federal investigators. "[56] Senators Mark Warner and Jack Reed requested that the Pentagon's acting inspector general conduct an investigation. On June 20, Judge Lamberth ruled that "Bolton likely published classified materials" and "has exposed his country to harm and himself to civil (and potentially criminal) liability," but denied the government's motion for a temporary restraining order, as "the government has failed to establish that an injunction will prevent irreparable harm. In "Sabinson's Salvo," he wrote that "[i]f administrators spent a little more time explaining their decision-making processes to the public, they might save themselves a lot of future embarrassment and lawsuits"[16], Ellis was an associate director of the White House Office of Strategic Initiatives in 2006–2007. A Justice Department attorney acknowledged that Ellis had received no training in reviewing classified information until that month, and that as many as half of the items Ellis had marked as classified may not have been so when Bolton wrote his manuscript, and Ellis's review was the first time they were flagged. On the eve of President Joe Biden’s inauguration, former President Donald Trump appointed Michael Ellis ’06 to serve as the top lawyer for the National Security Administration — a typically apolitical role. Post Q 2462 on 11/9/18: Who briefed NUNES on classified intel re: HUSSEIN spy campaign v. POTUS? In "La Plus Ca Change [sic]," Ellis argued against the college's affirmative action policy in admissions, writing that "Dartmouth may have a checkered past in its admissions policy when it comes to the Jews, but that is no reason to sacrifice its essential character on the altar of 'diversity. [36] The Trump administration claimed that Bolton did not report his decision to proceed with publication, yet Bolton asserted he was not advised of the second review by Ellis. The inquiry began releasing testimony from earlier witnesses. Ellis is an Eagle Scout. He served in multiple positions in the Trump administration and is known as a Donald Trump loyalist. In addition, Ellis was reportedly one of the two former White House officials, along with now-acting Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence Ezra Cohen-Watnick, who alerted Nunes in … He reportedly started the job this week, replacing a … Gerstell declined to comment on Ellis’s selection. "[32] Two days before Miller's order, judge Lamberth issued a ruling making it likely that Bolton's attorney would be allowed to question Ellis about whether classification decisions about Bolton's book had been made in bad faith, and Ellis's appointment to the NSA position could allow him to stall such testimony. Michael White is an associate in the Corporate Practice Group in the Bay Area office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP. [1], Controversy surrounding sharing of intelligence documents, U.S. House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, United States District Court for the District of Columbia, Trump's claims that the Obama administration spied on him, "Pelosi raises alarm after Trump loyalist installed as top NSA lawyer", "In a last-minute move, NSA installing Trump loyalist as general counsel", "Last-minute Trump appointee at NSA put on administrative leave due to inspector general probe", "The Game That Ruins Friendships and Shapes Careers", "Former TDR Editor Appears on Jeopardy! Ellis, if he passes the background and security clearance checks, would be succeeding Glenn Gerstell, who was general counsel from 2015 through January of this year. The revelation showed that Mr. Nunes and one of the aides, Michael Ellis, a lawyer in the White House Counsel’s Office, were using intelligence to advance political goals. The job of NSA general counsel is highly demanding, requiring candidates to have broad professional legal experience, an authoritative knowledge of statutes and executive branch regulations, and an ability to lead a legal office of about 100 lawyers for a sprawling agency — the equivalent of the legal shop for a multibillion-dollar global corporation. It’s been alleged that Ellis facilitated the review. Michael Ellis, a White House lawyer accused of serious ethical misconduct in the Ukraine scandal, has been picked by President Donald Trump to be senior director for intelligence on the National Security Council (NSC). According to testimony from another NSC official, Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, whom Trump fired earlier this year, it was Ellis who first proposed moving a memorandum of Trump’s call with the Ukrainian president to a highly classified server. At the age of 17, Ellis wrote an essay about the Battle of Caporetto. "[49][50][51] In a September 2020 letter to Justice Department officials and Bolton's attorneys, Knight's attorney asserted that "a designedly apolitical process had been commandeered by political appointees for a seemingly political purpose. Despite this, the White House did not provide written notice that Bolton could proceed with publication. [24][25], On March 29, 2017, The New York Times reported that Ellis and Ezra Cohen-Watnick were involved in leaking intelligence documents to Representative Devin Nunes, chair of the House Intelligence Committee. Michael Ellis (born 1984/1985)[1] is an American attorney, Republican political operative, and government official. Ellis served in the May Government as Deputy Leader of the House of Commons from 2016 to 2018, as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Arts, Heritage and Tourism at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport from 2018 to 2019, and briefly as Minister of State for Transport in 2019. [7] Prior to his appointment to the Trump administration, Ellis clerked for Judge Amul Thapar of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky and Judge Jeffrey Sutton of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. [26] The article stated that while neither were accused of breaking laws, Ellis and Cohen-Watnick appeared "to have sought to use intelligence to advance the political goals of the Trump administration."[26]. "[58][59] Nonetheless, on the required day, NSA announced that "Mr. Ellis accepted his final job offer yesterday afternoon. [57] Nakasone had concerns that Ellis is "not qualified for the post and that it's an attempt by the Trump administration to 'burrow' a political appointee into a career civil service position at the nation's largest spy agency. [10][6], As editor for the Dartmouth Review, Ellis described former University of Colorado professor Ward Churchill as a "pseudo-Indian" and argued that Lawrence Summers, when he was president of Harvard University, should not have been criticized for having "the gall to suggest to [sic] perhaps the sexes' brains may function in different ways. [12] Ellis also opposed Dartmouth's punitive actions against Zeta Psi fraternity for its role in what The New York Times called "publishing a newsletter that named and derided some of the women who it said had sex with the fraternity's members and promised 'patented date rape techniques' in a future edition"; members had defended the newsletter as satirical. [2][3] On January 20, 2021, Ellis was put on administrative leave due to a Department of Defense inspector general investigation into his appointment. and Wins First Round", "President Donald J. Trump Announces Key Additions to the Office of the White House Counsel", "Federalist Society Chapter Flourishes at Yale Law School; Rove, Mukasey Among Recent Featured Speakers", "The Dartmouth Review: Once More Unto the Breach", "The Dartmouth Review: Stalinist Dartmouth", "Dartmouth Expels Fraternity Over Articles", "The Dartmouth Review: Drinkin' Like A Dartmouth Man", "The Dartmouth Review: La Plus Ca Change", "Trump White House Lawyers: How Much Are They Worth? He socialized with the journalist David Klion, with whom he often played the strategy board game Diplomacy. Ellis was selected under pressure from the White House, people familiar with the matter said at the time. In the closing days of the Trump administration, some of the president's allies continued to call for the declassification of documents that they believe would support Trump's claims that the Obama administration spied on him. Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article. He was originally a White House attorney before Trump handed him the role of senior director for … [42][43], During a hearing on June 19, judge Royce Lamberth castigated Bolton for proceeding to publish his book without formal clearance, but expressed doubt he could block publication. [28], In April 2017, the Associated Press quoted a U.S. official as saying that although Cohen-Watnick had access to those kinds of intelligence materials, he did not play a role in helping Nunes gain access to the documents. Today's Zete brothers were not even on campus for the notorious Zetemouth incident, and formally bringing the house back into the Greek system would bring Zete's drinking back into the light, where it could be more safely monitored. We use cookies on this site to enhance the experience. [26][30], In July 2019 after Trump's controversial telephone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Ellis was the person who suggested moving the record of the call to the most highly classified server, according to sworn testimony by Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman. Ellis joined the White House in 2017, when he became a lawyer on the National Security Council, and in 2019, he was elevated to senior director. Tenant Screening. [18][19] Ellis was one of the principal staffers who compiled the 2016 bipartisan House Intelligence Committee report on the Edward Snowden leaks, which was unanimously approved by the Committee. But, he noted, the agency and its legal office have “a deep tradition of being nonpartisan and it would be important for anybody in the position of general counsel to discharge the job that way.”. Ellis, who was chief counsel to Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), a staunch supporter of President Trump and then-chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, has been at the White House since early 2017, when he became a lawyer on the National Security Council and then this year was elevated to senior director for intelligence. Nov 9, 2020 | CYBERSCOOP The Pentagon’s general counsel has selected Michael Ellis, a White House official and former Republican aide on Capitol Hill who has faced accusations of politicizing intelligence, to be the National Security Agency’s next general counsel, according to a U.S. government official familiar with the matter. In 2007–2008 he was the deputy director of strategy in Boston for Mitt Romney's presidential campaign. "[40] The next day, the Department of Justice filed an emergency application for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against Bolton, "seeking to enjoin publication of a book containing classified information. In 2011 he was named as one of the Forbes 30 Under 30 for law and policy. They wrote: "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. Michael Ellis serves as Special Assistant to the President, Senior Associate Counsel to the President, and Deputy National Security Council Legal Advisor. Ellis also has figured in the controversy over Trump’s effort last year to pressure Ukraine’s president to undertake what a whistleblower said was a politically motivated investigation of Joe Biden and his son Hunter. Background Checks. Four senior White House officials did not show up to testify on Monday, including the top lawyer at the National Security Council. [31], Ellis has been under investigation by the Defense Department inspector general regarding accusations that he retaliated against Eugene Vindman, the twin brother of Alexander Vindman who was a whistleblower in the Trump-Ukraine scandal. The White House included Ellis’s résumé when announcing his addition to the White House Counsel’s Office, when Don McGahn was running the show as of March 7, 2017: Michael Ellis serves as Special Assistant to the President, Senior Associate Counsel to the President, and Deputy National Security Council Legal Advisor. [13] Ellis outlined his views in an editorial entitled "Drinkin' Like A Dartmouth Man," where he argued that "re-recognizing Zeta Psi would [have gone] a long way towards showing the administration's sincerity about promoting a healthy Greek culture. NSA Director Paul Nakasone was not in favor of Ellis’s selection, according to three people familiar with the matter. [23] In March 2020, Ellis was appointed Senior Director for Intelligence on the NSC. That's what made Michael Ellis, a White House lawyer and former counsel to the House … — reportedly late at night, earning the episode the nickname “the midnight run. Michael Ellis was raised in Seal Beach, California and Altoona, Pennsylvania. [32], Nakasone placed Ellis on administrative leave on the first day of the Biden administration, pending a defense department inspector general inquiry into the circumstances of his NSA appointment. [4], During high school, Ellis lived in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. The documents at issue purported to show that communications by Trump and some of his associates were incidentally intercepted by American intelligence during surveillance of foreign nationals. Prior to his appointment to the Trump administration, Ellis clerked for Judge Amul Thapar of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky and Judge Jeffrey Sutton of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. Nunes learned about the unmasking when he reviewed documents at the White House. In a profile in Foreign Policy, Klion writes that Ellis "was always a staunch conservative" who "had a nervous tic when he lied" and was "an admirer of Otto von Bismarck." The Gravity of Michael Ellis’ Promotion to Senior Director for Intelligence at the White House (Just Security) Follow me on Twitter. [5], Ellis earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Dartmouth College (where he served as Editor in Chief of The Dartmouth Review)[6] summa cum laude[7] and a Juris Doctor in 2011 from Yale Law School[8] (where he was President of that school's chapter of the Federalist Society[9]). However, the selection was not up to him, they said. ", "Recent Trump appointee at National Security Agency placed on leave", "2 White House Officials Helped Give Nunes Intelligence Reports (Published 2017)", "A Trump loyalist is installed at the National Security Agency", "Annual Report to Congress on White House Office Personnel", "The Gravity of Michael Ellis' Promotion to Senior Director for Intelligence at the White House", "Trump loyalist installed in top intelligence post on National Security Council", "Analysis | Why the Trump administration's Michael Ellis gambit is problematic", "Trump removes Bannon from National Security Council", "Three White House officials tied to files shared with House intelligence chairman", "The Daily 202: Lame-duck Trump burrows loyalists inside government, starting with NSA", "N.S.A. Michael Ellis, Law Clerk, Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, 27 Courtesy of Michael Ellis Ex-Bush White House official, Romney aide is a Naval Reserve officer, will clerk for Judge Jeffrey Sutton. Ellis is named in the second article of the January 2020 impeachment of Trump, regarding obstruction of Congress. In Klion's view, Ellis was "awkward and gangly" as a youth and "made a point of not listening to any contemporary popular music." After graduating from high school, he joined the U.S. Navy and served in cruisers, destroyers, and submarines. UPDATE, Jan. 12: Gen. Paul Nakasone, the NSA director, has “placed Michael Ellis, a former Trump White House official, on indefinite leave pending an inquiry by the Pentagon inspector general into the circumstances of his selection as NSA general counsel,” an official told The Washington Post’s Ellen Nakashima.. News reports stated that Ellis was among the White House officials who helped Nunes see the documents — reportedly late at night, earning the episode the nickname “the midnight run.”. Four White House officials will not show up for scheduled closed-door depositions on Monday as part of the ongoing impeachment inquiry into … Like us on Facebook to see similar stories, Exclusive: 1 in 4 Americans have seen Asians blamed for the coronavirus in recent weeks, No evidence yet of federal hate crime in spa killings, officials say. White House. [19][55] Former CIA and NSA director Michael Hayden described Ellis' appointment as "really, really bad" and "not good at all. In 2017 Ellis, who worked in the White House Counsel's office, was responsible leaking intelligence to Rep. Devin Nunes that kicked off Trump's lies that his "wires" had been "tapped." The move drew criticism from national security legal experts as an attempt to politicize a … Escalates Legal Fight With Bolton Over Book", "Political appointee intervened in review of Bolton book with apparent aim to block publication, official says", "Trump Administration Asks Judge to Stop Publication of Bolton's Book", "Targeting Bolton, Justice Dept. "[11] In another editorial, titled "Stalinist Dartmouth," Ellis argued that the administration of Dartmouth College was "like most Communist regimes" for changing its rules for elections to its Board of Trustees. He wore bowties as well as Eisenhower and Nixon campaign pins on a daily basis. View phone numbers, addresses, public records, background check reports and possible arrest records for Michael Ellis in White House, TN. "[41] By that day, media outlets had acquired copies of the book and had begun publishing articles on its contents. The Pentagon general counsel has named a White House official and former GOP political operative to be the top lawyer at the National Security Agency, the U.S. government’s largest and most technically advanced spy agency, U.S. officials said. Whitepages people search is the most trusted directory. [38][39], On June 16, 2020—after the book had been shipped to distribution warehouses awaiting official release the following week—the Trump administration filed a civil lawsuit against Bolton in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, alleging breach of contract for failing to submit his manuscript for prepublication security review, seeking to confiscate his $2 million advance, asserting the manuscript was "rife with classified information. [33][34] Bolton had submitted his manuscript, which contained criticism of Trump, to the National Security Council for prepublication security review in December 2019. A future Pentagon general counsel could choose to assign him to a different civil service position. [32], As Trump faced an impeachment trial that raised the possibility former national security advisor John Bolton might provide testimony, the White House on January 23, 2020 issued a formal threat to stop Bolton from publishing his memoir, The Room Where It Happened, citing national security concerns. Trump loyalist to be installed as NSA's top lawyer. [44][45][46][43][38][47][48] Both Lamberth and Bolton's attorney, Chuck Cooper, noted that while the Justice Department provided an affidavit from Ellis in its brief, it did not include any statement from Knight. Send me a secure tip. Prior to his current position where he reports to White House Counsel Don McGahn, he served as an attorney for the House Intelligence Committee led by Representative Devin Nunes. and won with a final score of $16,400. Michael Ellis will be known by historians for his secret late night meeting on 3/21/17 at the White House. He regularly consulted his deputy, Michael Ellis, and checked in with Pat A. Cipollone, the White House counsel. [52] His nomination came shortly after Trump fired then-Defense Secretary Mark Esper. You know what Donald Trump says when it comes to White House personnel choices: The more pliable, the better. ", After Trump lost his bid for re-election in November 2020, at the direction of the White House Ellis was named general counsel of the National Security Agency (NSA). Again in Alignment With Trump's Desires", "Bolton bombshell sets off a whodunit frenzy", "Emergency Application for Temporary Restraining Order and Motion for Preliminary Injunction", "Trump Put Re-Election Prospects Ahead of National Interest, Bolton Alleges", "Bolton Says Trump Impeachment Inquiry Missed Other Troubling Episodes", "DOJ applies for emergency restraining order to block Bolton's book", "U.S. judge blasts Bolton for abandoning classified information review but doubts he can bar book publication", "White House seeks emergency order to block release of John Bolton's book", "Judge declines to block release of Bolton book", "Judge: Bolton Can Publish Book Despite Efforts to Block It", "NSA is 'moving forward' to install Michael Ellis, a former GOP operative, as its top lawyer, the agency said", "Secretary of Defense Dr. Mark T. Esper Accepts Resignation of Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly", "Trump's new Pentagon sets up clash over Afghanistan pullout", "Acting defense secretary orders NSA director to immediately install former GOP operative as the agency's top lawyer", "Former Spy Boss Hayden: Ellis NSA Appointment is 'Really Bad, "Acting secretary of defense orders NSA chief to install Trump loyalist as agency's general counsel", "NSA Will Install Trump Loyalist Michael Ellis As Its General Counsel", "Trump loyalist to be installed as NSA's top lawyer", "Former GOP operative Michael Ellis placed on administrative leave from NSA top lawyer job", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Michael_Ellis_(Trump_administration_official)&oldid=1010073314, United States National Security Council staffers, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 3 March 2021, at 17:33.
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