Brazilian hacker says Bolsonaro asked him to tamper with voting machine

Hacker Walter Delgatti Neto reacts while testifying before a Brazilian Congress enquiry into the riots in the capital Brasilia on January 8, in Brasilia, Brazil, August 17, 2023. REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino

BRASILIA (Reuters) - A Brazilian hacker told a congressional inquiry on Thursday that former President Jair Bolsonaro asked him to tamper with an electronic voting machine to show Brazil's electoral system was vulnerable to fraud during last year's presidential campaign.

Computer programmer Walter Delgatti told lawmakers he met in August with then-President Bolsonaro, who asked him to discuss the idea with experts at the defense ministry and offered to pardon him if he suffered legal consequences.