Jenna McLaughlin

He did the same thing with electronics from the thrift store, actually. He would buy radios and take them apart. He even said that he once got nearly electrocuted messing around with all the electronics.

And he's worked in this field for many years. Prior to being in the government, he was a technical consultant. He was a specialist actually doing auditing of corporate systems. So exactly the kind of stuff that Doge does that they're trying to do, that was actually Brulis' job. He says he decided to join the NLRB because he was really interested in public service.

And he's worked in this field for many years. Prior to being in the government, he was a technical consultant. He was a specialist actually doing auditing of corporate systems. So exactly the kind of stuff that Doge does that they're trying to do, that was actually Brulis' job. He says he decided to join the NLRB because he was really interested in public service.

And he's worked in this field for many years. Prior to being in the government, he was a technical consultant. He was a specialist actually doing auditing of corporate systems. So exactly the kind of stuff that Doge does that they're trying to do, that was actually Brulis' job. He says he decided to join the NLRB because he was really interested in public service.

He had done volunteer firefighting in the past. He had worked for a rape crisis line. But he wanted to use his technical skills to do more.

He had done volunteer firefighting in the past. He had worked for a rape crisis line. But he wanted to use his technical skills to do more.

He had done volunteer firefighting in the past. He had worked for a rape crisis line. But he wanted to use his technical skills to do more.

So his job at the NLRB specifically is to secure the cloud-based systems. He reinforces who gets access to those systems, and he helps keep out attackers.

So his job at the NLRB specifically is to secure the cloud-based systems. He reinforces who gets access to those systems, and he helps keep out attackers.

So his job at the NLRB specifically is to secure the cloud-based systems. He reinforces who gets access to those systems, and he helps keep out attackers.

So normally anyone working on these systems, once they create an account, there's a ticket filed. You get to track a little bit about what that account is doing. But when the Doge staffers came in, Barula said that his colleagues were asked not to track anything, to just completely act like they were never there.

So normally anyone working on these systems, once they create an account, there's a ticket filed. You get to track a little bit about what that account is doing. But when the Doge staffers came in, Barula said that his colleagues were asked not to track anything, to just completely act like they were never there.

So normally anyone working on these systems, once they create an account, there's a ticket filed. You get to track a little bit about what that account is doing. But when the Doge staffers came in, Barula said that his colleagues were asked not to track anything, to just completely act like they were never there.

It's really unusual. Every expert I talked to for this story, over 10 people said... There's absolutely no reason that you wouldn't want your activity logged if you're doing something legitimate, because at the bare minimum, it allows you to troubleshoot, to fix errors that are completely benign.

It's really unusual. Every expert I talked to for this story, over 10 people said... There's absolutely no reason that you wouldn't want your activity logged if you're doing something legitimate, because at the bare minimum, it allows you to troubleshoot, to fix errors that are completely benign.

It's really unusual. Every expert I talked to for this story, over 10 people said... There's absolutely no reason that you wouldn't want your activity logged if you're doing something legitimate, because at the bare minimum, it allows you to troubleshoot, to fix errors that are completely benign.

If there is a potential breach or a concern about a cybersecurity issue, it gives you a lot of clues about what systems affected, what happened, which users were involved. So, yeah, it's extremely problematic, and it really set off some red flags for Berulis.

If there is a potential breach or a concern about a cybersecurity issue, it gives you a lot of clues about what systems affected, what happened, which users were involved. So, yeah, it's extremely problematic, and it really set off some red flags for Berulis.

If there is a potential breach or a concern about a cybersecurity issue, it gives you a lot of clues about what systems affected, what happened, which users were involved. So, yeah, it's extremely problematic, and it really set off some red flags for Berulis.

It's important to say when we asked NLRB for comment on this story, they said they had no official record of Doge visiting, that they'd never authorized Doge accessing their systems, that Doge had never requested access. Of course, that's counter to Brulis' official disclosure, plus records of internal communication seen by NPR and the forensic evidence that we've been looking at.