Oct. 21, 2021
Review of the Selection Process and Administrative Leave of the Former National Security Agency General Counsel (DODIG-2022-002)
This report presents the results of the DoD Office of Inspector General (OIG) review of the selection of Mr. Michael J. Ellis, then-Deputy Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Intelligence Programs, National Security Council (NSC), for the civil service position of the National Security Agency (NSA) General Counsel (GC). Specifically, our review examined the process to select Mr. Ellis as the NSA GC and the placement of Mr. Ellis on administrative leave pending an NSA inquiry into alleged security incidents involving Mr. Ellis by General (GEN) Paul M. Nakasone, U.S. Army, U.S. Cyber Command, Commander, and NSA Director.