Andrew Bakaj, a whistleblower attorney for NLRB IT staffer Daniel J. Berulis, discusses the disclosure process, Congress’ role in protecting federal data and more.
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Last month, a whistleblower named Daniel J. Berulis submitted a highly concerning report to Congress about his experiences with the Department of Government Efficiency during his work as an IT staffer at the National Labor Relations Board.
DOGE, he said, had arrived at his agency and possibly enabled a breach exposing government data while they were accessing NLRB systems. Alarmingly, Berulis saw evidence that NLRB information was being accessed by users in Russia in near real-time. While he was preparing his report, Berulis said he was threatened: Someone taped a note to the front door of his home that referenced his disclosure as well as photographs of him recorded via drone.
Nonprofit legal assistance organization Whistleblower Aid has stepped in to represent Berulis and support his disclosure. Andrew Bakaj, the chief legal counsel at Whistleblower Aid, told FedScoop that the organization has since seen more outreach, with people asking questions about the whistleblower disclosure process.
“The worst-case nightmare scenario is that this is beyond NLRB,” Bakaj said. “This is happening in multiple agencies where DOGE has been, and that — whether it was intentional or by accident, sloppiness, etc. — foreign intelligence and our adversaries gained access into our critical...
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