White House Lawyer
Michael Ellis is Special Assistant to the President, Senior Associate Counsel to the President, and Deputy National Security Council Legal Advisor. 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.
Ellis is one of two White House lawyers who reviewed intelligence documents gathered by Ezra Cohen-Watnick and leaked to Nunes. Ellis believed the classified intel would help prove President Trump’s unsubstantiated claim the Obama administration wiretapped him at Trump Tower.
While Nunes refused to disclose his White House sources, The New York Times was able to identify Ellis.