DOJ Unseals Indictment against Surgeon Who Exposed Trans Procedures at Texas Children’s Hospital

The Department of Justice has unsealed a four-count indictment against Dr. Eithan Haim for alleged HIPAA violations, as the surgeon-turned-whistleblower attended his initial appearance in Texas federal court Monday afternoon.

Haim is accused of accessing and obtaining personally identifiable information belonging to pediatric patients in the Texas Children’s Hospital system without authorization, according to the six-page indictment announced by U.S. attorney Alamdar Hamdani.

Haim leaked documents last year showing that the Houston-based hospital continued conducting transgender procedures on minors, despite leadership saying it would stop providing sex-change surgeries and puberty blockers the year before.

The hospital’s misleading announcement was made in response to Texas attorney general Ken Paxton’s February 2022 non-binding legal opinion equating transgender treatments with child abuse. The opinion prompted Governor Greg Abbott to order the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services to conduct an investigation into so-called gender-affirming care in the state.

By September 2023, Texas Children’s Hospital was then forced to comply with a new law prohibiting surgical procedures and prescription treatments for transgender youth.

Prosecutors, led by assistant U.S. attorney Tina Ansari, allege the Houston doctor obtained the sensitive patient records under false pretenses and intended to cause malicious harm to Texas Children’s Hospital. The indictment cites financial loss, delays in medical appointments, and threats against patients and physicians as examples of harm the hospital experienced in the aftermath.

Haim maintains the documents that he leaked to conservative journalist Christopher Rufo, who subsequently published the bombshell story in May 2023, were partially redacted to protect the identities of minor patients. The release of unredacted information would not necessarily have violated HIPAA, which allows protected health information to be disclosed if it’s used to stop a serious and imminent threat to health or safety.

In a follow-up article on June 6, Rufo concurred that much of the information — patient’s name, date of birth, medical record number, etc. — was redacted. The dates of service, diagnosis, procedure codes, and physician names remained visible, the court document notes.

Haim, a resident at Baylor College of Medicine at the time, is also being held at fault for allegedly requesting “to re-activate his login access at [Texas Children’s Hospital] to access pediatric patients not under his care” in April 2023, the DOJ’s press release states.

If convicted, the defendant faces up to ten years in federal prison and a $250,000 maximum fine. The case is being prosecuted in the Southern District of Texas.

Haim first learned of the indictment on June 4, when three armed U.S. marshals showed up at his doorstep in the early morning to inform him of the four felony counts. He didn’t know the full nature of the criminal charges at the time, but denounced the unannounced visit as an “intimidation tactic” designed to instill fear in him and his pregnant wife. The couple is expecting a daughter in the fall.

“Everything they’re doing is meant to intimidate me to create the perception of a crime, when it’s actually them who are covering up misconduct on the part of the hospital,” Haim told National Review prior to his initial court appearance.

Despite the charges laid against him, the 34-year-old general surgeon feels confident about his case “because I had fulfilled the responsibilities of my profession” by telling the truth about Texas Children’s Hospital’s secretive transgender procedures.

“It’s obvious to everyone that what I did was the correct thing to do,” he added.

Planning on fighting in court to the end, Haim will not take a plea deal if prosecutors offered one because the case could set a precedent for other whistleblowers in his position.

“If we don’t fight back and if we don’t win, the door shuts forever for every single other whistleblower in the health-care system in our country,” he said.

After being notified of the federal indictment, Haim was overwhelmed with how much an upcoming trial would cost. The legal process has so far cost him well over $250,000. But since news of the indictment broke nearly two weeks ago, he saw a drastic jump in donations on his GiveSendGo page, which has raised over $620,000 so far. His goal is to raise $1 million.

Haim hopes to set the record straight in the trial, which has yet to be scheduled.