DOJ Drops Case Against Texas Doctor Accused Of Illegally Accessing Medical Records Of Trans Children

From my June 2024 report:

A Houston doctor has been indicted for obtaining the records of pediatric patients at Texas Children’s Hospital who were not under his care and without authorization, according to U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

The indictment alleges Ethan Haim, 34, illegally accessed patient names, treatment codes and attending physicians “under false pretenses and with intent to cause malicious harm to TCH.”

Shortly after Haim allegedly accessed the records, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced he was launching an investigation into Texas Children’s Hospital to find out whether they are “actively engaging in illegal behavior and performing gender transitioning procedures on children.

From that day’s DOJ press release:

The four-count indictment alleges Haim obtained personal information including patient names, treatment codes and the attending physician from Texas Children’s Hospital’s (TCH) electronic system without authorization.

He allegedly obtained this information under false pretenses and with intent to cause malicious harm to TCH. According to the indictment, Haim was a resident at Baylor College of Medicine and had previous rotations at TCH as part of his residency.

In April 2023, Haim allegedly requested to re-activate his login access at TCH to access pediatric patients not under his care.

The indictment alleges he obtained unauthorized access to personal information of pediatric patients under false pretenses and later disclosed it to a media contact. If convicted, Haim faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 maximum possible fine.

Haim launched a money beg last year on the Christian crowdfunding site favored by Capitol rioters and far-right extremists.

At this writing, he’s raised over $1.2 million.

And today the DOJ dropped the case.