NSA installs DHS lawyer as new general counsel
NSA confirmed Kerianne Tobitsch, formerly a senior DHS lawyer, began as the agency's general counsel on June 15, 2026, after a year-long vacancy.
The NSA appointed Kerianne Tobitsch, previously a senior lawyer at the Department of Homeland Security and a former Jones Day partner, as general counsel effective June 15, 2026, filling a role that had been vacant for roughly a year. The role oversees lawyers who review and approve clandestine operations. The previous general counsel, April Falcon Doss, was fired in 2022 after conservative media criticism amplified on social media, and two other senior NSA lawyers retired around that time. Tobitsch is expected to play a role in upcoming congressional efforts to renew FISA Section 702, which sunset in June 2026.
- Tobitsch appointed June 15, 2026 after roughly a year without a permanent general counsel.
- Role oversees legal review of clandestine intelligence operations.
- Predecessor April Falcon Doss was fired after conservative media criticism in 2022.
- New general counsel likely involved in FISA Section 702 renewal efforts.
- Organizations
- Jones DayRecorded Future News
- Countries
- United States
From the original article
3 min read at therecord.media
The National Security Agency recently appointed a new top lawyer, discreetly filling a role that has become a lightning rod for conservative critics in recent years. Kerianne Tobitsch, who most recently served as a senior lawyer at the Homeland Security Department, was named the spy agency’s general counsel in June, according to two people with direct knowledge of the move.
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