Full Breakdown
Federal Whistleblower Claims DOGE Accessed NLRB Data; Audit Logs Deleted
7/10/2026, 2:06:50 PM
Allegations and Retaliation
On April 14, 2025, Dan Berulis, a 38-year-old IT security architect formerly with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), filed a whistleblower complaint with Congress alleging that members of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) accessed the agency’s databases without proper authorization. Six days later, Berulis’s vehicle was found with its brake lines deliberately severed, causing a crash on Easter Sunday. He has since filed a defamation lawsuit against Elon Musk, who had reshared a post accusing Berulis of fabricating the breach.
Deleted Access Logs
A Government Accountability Office (GAO) audit released in April 2026 examined DOGE activity from April 16 to July 25, 2025. The report noted that in August 2025, shortly before federal auditors arrived, the NLRB permanently deleted the user accounts assigned to the DOGE team, erasing the metadata needed to confirm which files were accessed, copied, or exported. The footnote describing this deletion is the only indication in the GAO document that the logs were removed, leaving investigators without forensic evidence of any wrongdoing.
Investigations and Official Responses
The NLRB’s Office of the Inspector General opened an investigation in May 2025, which remains active. The GAO’s limited time frame and the missing logs have hampered the inquiry, and the NLRB has declined to comment on the deletions. DOGE representatives have not responded publicly to the allegations. Congressional leaders have called for further oversight, citing the difficulty of verifying the whistleblower’s claims.
Criticism, Opposition, and Broader Impact
Transparency advocates argue the incident illustrates the vulnerability of centralized government databases when political appointees receive super-user privileges. Comparisons have been drawn to data-scrubbing scandals in Kenya’s Integrated Financial Management Information System and Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, highlighting a global pattern of audit-log manipulation that undermines accountability.
Verbatim Quotes
- “I think you could imagine another situation where the footnote is the central theme of the report,” — Don Moynihan, professor of public policy, University of Michigan
- “The deletion eradicated the metadata required to prove exactly what files DOGE personnel opened, copied, or exported during their tenure.” — GAO report
- “The GAO conceded that in August 2025, shortly before federal auditors arrived to inspect the server architecture, the NLRB permanently deleted the specific user accounts assigned to the DOGE team.” — GAO report
- “Whistleblower documents allege DOGE members had permissions superseding even the agency's Chief Information Officer, allowing them access to trade secrets, union negotiation strategies, and whistleblower identities.” — whistleblower documents