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EXCLUSIVE: New Info Destroys DOJ Case Against Trans Surgery Whistleblower, Lawyers Say
New information disclosed by the Department of Justice “upends” its case against Texas Children’s Hospital whistleblower Eithan Haim, the doctor’s defense said in a Monday motion.
“The government admits evidence that contradicts their allegations against Dr. Haim,” the doctor’s lawyer, Marcella Burke, told The Daily Wire on Monday morning. “The government’s own disclosures blow apart their allegations. They have both the facts and the law wrong and we look forward to clearing this up so Dr. Haim can move on with his life.”
Haim had blown the whistle on Texas Children’s in May 2023, in an explosive story published by journalist Christopher Rufo, alleging that the hospital had lied about ending its transgender medical program and was still performing attempted transition procedures on children as young as 11.
In June 2023, Haim received a home visit from federal agents. He discovered that the Justice Department was targeting him, attempting to charge him with four felony counts of violating HIPAA.
The DOJ has based its case, in large part, on the claim that Haim had no reason to access Texas Children’s Hospital records after he finished a surgical rotation at the hospital in January 2021.
On Friday, however, the government disclosed new information to Haim’s defense team that “directly contradicts” this claim, showing records of Haim’s work at Texas Children’s on nine different occasions between January 20, 2021, and April 14, 2023.
“The entire premise of the government’s case has been that Dr. Haim was an interloper, falsely claiming responsibility for TCH patients to hide some nefarious and malicious reason for accessing TCH records,” reads the filing, first obtained by The Daily Wire. “This rested on the foundational premise that Dr. Haim treated no patients at TCH after January 2021. But the government’s Friday the 13th disclosure has now blown apart this entire premise.”
Dr. Eithan Haim, left. (Yi-Chin Lee/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
Haim’s lawyers say that the first count of the DOJ’s indictment, alleging that Haim acted under false pretenses, must be dismissed since the “legitimacy of the rest of the indictment is now in question.”
“Until Friday night, the government has insisted to the defense and the judge that Dr. Haim had zero reason to access TCH medical records,” another one of Haim’s attorneys, Ryan Patrick, told The Daily Wire in a Monday statement. “Instead, what this shows is the government convinced a grand jury to indict Dr. Haim without the FBI requesting a basic text search of his name inside the medical record system. It appears that nearly everything the government thought it knew is now wrong.”
Haim himself held off on commenting Monday, telling The Daily Wire: “I have no comment because I’m too busy operating and taking care of my patients.”
The revelation came the day after Texas Children’s announced the retirement of its longtime CEO, Mark Wallace. Wallace will be stepping down from his position at the hospital in October after three decades.
Texas Children’s did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Daily Wire.
A second whistleblower, Vanessa Sivadge, alleged in late August that the hospital fired her after she spoke out about its alleged use of Texas Medicaid to cover transgender procedures for children.
“This past Friday on August 16, TCH fired me effective immediately,” she shared in an August 19 statement. “This is unlawful for two reasons: it is retaliation for my coming forward with information on TCH’s egregious pattern of deception and Medicaid fraud, and this action also illegally disregarded my request to transfer due to my belief that these procedures bring irreversible harm and lifelong regret to children confused about their sex.”
The hospital previously said in a July statement that it “never condones any criminal act,” adding: “It goes without saying that if we uncover any rogue or unauthorized criminal activity, we will take swift action to correct the issue.”
“To reiterate,” the hospital statement continued, “our internal investigation to-date has found no basis to substantiate any allegations of Medicaid fraud. All services provided by Texas Children’s were permitted according to Medicaid billing and payment guidelines that were in effect at the time care was provided.”
The DOJ alleged in its four-count indictment that Haim had obtained personal information, including treatment codes, patient names, and the names of physicians at TCH, without authorization, under false pretenses, and with “intent to cause malicious harm to TCH.”
If convicted, according to the DOJ, Haim could spend 10 years in federal prison and pay a fine of up to $250,000.
The Records
The DOJ’s Friday letter to Haim’s attorneys reveals that counsel for Texas Children’s disclosed the records to the DOJ on September 12 and September 13.
According to that data, Haim entered progress notes for two adult patients on January 30, 2021, progress notes for pediatric patients on April 19, 2021, and May 2, 2021, and operative notes for pediatric patients on May 3, 2021, November 1, 2021, and November 13, 2021.
Haim was listed as a surgeon for pediatric patients on December 9, 2021, and December 22, 2021, accessed “related patient records on December 22, 2021, and December 23, 2021, and is listed as a resident on an operative note for an adult patient on April 14, 2023.
“The Government understands that the above-listed dates occurred after Haim’s residency rotation at TCH,” says the DOJ letter, shared with The Daily Wire.
The letter, signed by United States Attorney for the Southern District of Texas, Alamdar Hamdani, adds: “The Government has requested records related to these instances from TCH, which we will produce to the defense once they are provided.”
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