One of the more pernicious features of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is that, to name it after that stupid shiba inu, Elon Musk accidentally created something so blindingly lame that it’s hard to look at it long enough to measure all the damage it continues to do. But make no mistake, beneath the surface of TheChive.com humor, DOGE is and has been one of the most malevolent government-run forces in modern history.
From day one, the DOGE team acted as a self-described sledgehammer for any and all areas of the federal government that the administration disputed. DOGE, which was presented as a way to fight waste, fraud and abuse, was instead used as Trump’s personal prop. They are fired tens of thousands of shots of federal employees. They have cut humanitarian aid around the world, resulting in hundreds of thousands of people deaths so farmore to come. DOGE also mishandled Americans’ personal information and as a result numerous congressional investigations into the department – investigations into other federal agencies in the department refuse to cooperate with
In 2025, a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) official raised immediate concerns when he discovered that DOGE had intercepted and begun downloading his agency’s data, as well as attempts to log in from a Russian address. The NLRB did not grant DOGE access to that information. DOGE didn’t even ask for it. Dan Berulis, an IT employee involved, made the difficult decision to put his career on the line and prepare to file a whistleblower complaint with Congress. What he didn’t know then was that calling the DOGE would lead to more than just his job.
A day after her complaint was filed, Berulis went public with her concerns exclusively NPR article revealed his identity. In the interview, Berulis shared that a few days before he blew the whistle, a threatening note with pictures of what appeared to be a drone camera of him walking his dog was taped to his door. As reported Narrativethese new claims come as part of a defamation lawsuit Berulis filed against Elon Musk in April of this year, which was recently made public.
Just two days after the NPR article, on the evening of April 19, 2025, Mask shared a post on X He claimed Berulis had filed a “deliberate misrepresentation claim.” Berulis’ lawsuit alleges that the untrue claim by the world’s richest man, who has more than a quarter of a billion followers on the social media platform he owns, put a target on his back, citing the horrific incident that happened hours after Musk shared it on X.
The next day, when Berulis started driving to see family members, he quickly realized something was wrong. As he approached a stop sign at an intersection, he realized he was unable to accelerate and swerved toward the sign to avoid a multi-vehicle collision. When Berulis inspected the car, he was horrified to find that the brake lines had been cut.
It took some time for Berulis to read Musk’s repost and link it to his mysterious accident and threatening note. After realizing this, she no longer feels safe in her home and soon flees to a hotel before canceling her lease.
As Berulis told WIRED, the brake lines were likely “broken when the car was parked in my driveway. The note came home … I didn’t feel safe there. I never stayed at that address again.”
Berulis’ defamation case is still pending, and he admits that filing the lawsuit is like “kicking a hornet’s nest” and could put him back in the crosshairs of Musk’s most rabid fans. Despite the potential threats and what he sees as an unexpected victory in court due to “asymmetry,” Berulis hopes something positive will come of the proceedings, even if it focuses more on the damage DOGE has done and its role in Musk’s massacre.
