DOJ Drops Charges Against Texas Surgeon Who Blew Whistle on Transgender Procedures on Minors

Dr. Eithan Haim (C) walks out of the Bob Casey United States Courthouse after appearing for an arraignment hearing in Houston on June 17, 2024. Yi-Chin Lee/Houston Chronicle via AP, File

Federal prosecutors have dismissed their case against a Texas surgeon accused of obtaining private information on patients who were not under his care.

Dr. Eithan Haim, 34, allegedly exposed information on transgender-related treatment and minors from a Texas hospital. The manner in which he obtained the records resulted in federal charges against him in U.S. district court in Houston.

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) wrote on social media platform X that after his phone call with Department of Justice (DOJ) leadership on Friday, the department was moving to dismiss the charges.

Hawley called Haim “the brave whistleblower who exposed illegal gender transition surgeries on minors in Texas.”

“He should be thanked, not prosecuted,” Hawley wrote.

The DOJ subsequently issued a joint motion to dismiss the case.

“The United States, appearing through its undersigned attorneys, and the defendant, Eithan David Haim, hereby move this Court for an order dismissing the Second Superseding Indictment and all open counts with prejudice,” said acting U.S. attorney Jennifer B. Lowery.

U.S. District Judge David Hittner granted the joint motion to drop the charges, with prejudice, which. means the federal government cannot pursue the same charges against Haim in the future.

“This fully vindicates Dr. Haim,” Burke Law Group, who helped represent Haim, stated in a post on X.

Prosecutors alleged Haim exploited his position as a surgeon by obtaining and sharing information with a conservative activist with the intent to inflict malicious damage upon Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston.

In June 2024, Haim pleaded not guilty to four counts of wrongfully obtaining individually identifiable health information. He has denied any wrongdoing.

“We’re going to fight this tooth and nail, stand up for whistleblowers everywhere,” Haim said in June.

Although Haim worked in the Dallas area at the time the charges were brought against him, he had worked at Texas Children’s Hospital during his residency.

According to the indictment, Haim requested to reactivate his login at the Children’s Hospital in April 2023, after which he accessed data on pediatric patients. He then distributed the contents to an independent journalist named Christopher Rufo, who is based in Washington State.

Haim does not dispute accessing and giving the information to Rufo, who then published a story accusing the hospital of secretly rendering transgender-related procedures for minors.

The hospital had announced in 2022 that it would stop giving transgender procedures, and a ban went into effect in Texas in September 2023.

Haim was out on bond when his case was dismissed. If convicted, he faced up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Dusty Deevers, an Oklahoma state senator, introduced on Friday the Eithan Haim Act, Senate Bill 571.

“The bill would establish that the federal government is prohibited from violating the 1st, 2nd, or 4th amendment rights of Oklahomans or cracking down on whistleblowers who lawfully expose illegal conduct,” Deevers wrote in a post on X.