‘EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY’

NSA’s Top Lawyer, Appointed by Trump and Then Sidelined, Resigns

Michael Ellis was appointed in November, but the NSA director put him on leave the day Trump left office.

The top lawyer for the National Security Agency has resigned. Michael Ellis was appointed to the position by Donald Trump in November, but NSA Director Gen. Paul Nakasone had put Ellis on administrative leave on President Joe Biden’s inauguration day. Ellis was under investigation on multiple fronts at the time, both from the Pentagon’s inspector general and a probe of his handling of classified information. Ellis wrote in a letter to his superior, “I have been on administrative leave for nearly three months without any explanation or updates, and there is no sign that NSA will attempt to resolve the issue. I therefore resign my position, effective immediately.”