DOJ unseals indictment against Texas doctor who blew whistle on gender-affirming care for minors
The Department of Justice unsealed the indictment against Dr. Eithan Haim, a whistleblower who pleaded not guilty after being accused of HIPAA violations over exposing a Texas hospital that was allegedly secretly conducting gender-affirming care on minors.
Haim, a surgeon who completed his residency at the Texas Children's Hospital, has been indicted on four felony charges. The previously sealed indictment, filed May 29 by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas, accused Haim of attempting to re-activate his login credentials under false pretenses after they expired due to lack of activity.
The indictment by U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani alleges that Haim "obtained unauthorized individually identifiable health HIPAA protected information on pediatric patients" and "caused malicious harm to TCH, pediatric patients at TCH and its physicians by contacting a media contact."
Haim, who faces 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, pleaded not guilty and said he was innocent during a court appearance on Monday.
DOJ CHARGES TEXAS DOCTOR AFTER HE BLEW THE WHISTLE ON GENDER-AFFIRMING CARE FOR MINORS
"I have maintained from day one that I have done nothing wrong. We're going to fight this tooth and nail, stand up for whistleblowers everywhere," Haim said, according to KHOU11 in Houston.
Haim leaked documents to journalist Christopher Rufo in May 2023 showing that the Texas Children's Hospital continued operating its child gender clinic against state law after they claimed it had been shut down.
Rufo previously stressed that none of the documents he obtained from Haim included patients' personal information at the clinic. However, the indictment says the Texas Children's Hospital was harmed by the doctor’s actions.
"As a result of HAIM’S actions, TCH resulted in financial loss, medical delays in previously scheduled patients as well as threats and harm to its patients and esteemed physicians. In furtherance of his malicious intent, HAIM obtained unauthorized HIPAA protected information and intentionally contacted a media outlet to grossly mischaracterize TCH’s medical procedures in order to damage the reputation of TCH and its physicians and to promote his own personal agenda," the indictment states.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton released an opinion in February 2022 that stated gender-affirming care for kids could be a form of child abuse under state law. The following month, Texas Children's Hospital issued a statement saying it would stop all treatments and surgeries on children related to transgenderism.
In a piece published in the City Journal, Haim claimed that three days after the announcement, a surgeon implanted a hormone device in an 11-year-old girl who was experiencing gender dysphoria.
Haim said that over the next year, the frequency of these procedures increased.
Following the May 14, 2023 story by Rufo that included Haim's first-hand account, the Texas legislature passed a law that banned transgender medical interventions on minors.
Haim has vowed to fight the charges and suggested the DOJ is corrupt.
"They wanted to intimidate me into silence using every technique the federal leviathan had at their disposal. But they failed," Haim wrote on X when he was initially charged. "The only way to lose is to submit to corruption. It's time to fight back harder than ever!"
Haim's attorney, Marcella Burke, has insisted this is government overreach.
"Our client is a mandatory reporter of child abuse who reported as a whistleblower to the State of Texas what he had seen in his hospital… this is the government going out of its way to prosecute a whistleblower," Burke said in a statement.
Burke added when reached by Fox News Digital: "I am honored to represent Dr Haim. We received the indictment moments before his arraignment. It appears that the government has its facts wrong, they misunderstand the situation, and it’s unclear they understand how HIPAA works. Our client will have his day in court and we are going to fight these charges."
Texas Children's Hospital and the DOJ did not immediately return Fox News Digital's request for comment.
The doctor’s pregnant wife, Andrea Haim, is petrified that her husband will miss the birth of their child.
"My husband is a whistleblower and a hero, who is being targeted in a baseless political prosecution for telling the truth when Texas Children’s Hospital was hiding its transgender procedures on children. He has now been charged with four felonies. The impact of this on our family has been devastating both emotionally and financially. I am six months pregnant, and I am terrified that my husband will not be there when I give birth or for the first part of our daughter’s life," Andrea Haim told Fox News Digital.
"But as difficult as this has been, it is a privilege to take on this fight for children and to preserve the ability of whistleblowers to tell the truth," she continued. "We cannot do it alone."
The Haim family said they have "spent our life savings and every penny to our name in legal fees" and have started a fundraiser to cover the legal defense.
Fox News Digital’s Nikolas Lanum contributed to this report.