Federal prosecutors in Texas have filed a motion requesting a gag order in the trial of Dr. Eithan David Haim, a defendant in a high-profile case, citing concerns about prejudicial public commentary by Haim and his defense counsel.
Dr. Eithan David Haim, a 34-year-old Texas physician, is accused of unlawfully accessing protected health information of pediatric patients at Texas Children’s Hospital (TCH). The indictment claims Haim accessed sensitive data without authorization, raising serious concerns about privacy violations and potential misuse of medical records.
According to the indictment, Haim, a former Baylor College of Medicine resident who rotated at TCH, allegedly reactivated his login credentials under false pretenses in April 2023. He is accused of accessing information such as patient names and treatment codes and attending physicians for patients not under his care.
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Federal prosecutors allege Haim disclosed this information to journalist Christopher Rufo, who published a May 2023 story in City Journal detailing pediatric sex-change procedures performed at TCH. The report gained widespread attention and contributed to the Texas Legislature passing a law banning such procedures statewide. Prosecutors claim Haim intended to cause harm to TCH’s reputation.
“Protected health information is just that – protected,” said U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani. “We will not tolerate anyone who attempts to unlawfully access or misuse private medical records, especially those of vulnerable children.”
Haim, however, contends that the documents he provided were fully redacted and did not include identifiable patient information.
Haim’s legal team, led by attorney Marcella Burke, denies the charges, asserting that the prosecution’s case is based on false claims. A January 2024 letter to Republican Representatives Jim Jordan (Ohio) and Chip Roy (Texas) argued that the investigation proceeded on a “disproved falsehood” that Haim disclosed children’s names.
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Burke expressed confidence in the trial process, stating, “My client is anxious to get to trial to get his side of the story told. I am confident this will result in the correct decision being made.”
Rufo, who reported on the documents, confirmed that the materials he received were carefully redacted to exclude identifying information. Despite this, Haim faces charges for alleged violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). If convicted, he could face up to 10 years in federal prison and a maximum fine of $250,000.
Haim has launched a fundraising campaign to cover his legal fees, raising over $619,000 of an estimated $500,000 needed for his defense.
Gag Order Motion Filed by Federal Prosecutors
Amid the growing attention surrounding the case, federal prosecutors have filed a motion seeking a gag order on Haim and his defense counsel. The motion alleges that Haim and Burke have used social media, particularly X (formerly Twitter), to make inflammatory and potentially prejudicial statements about the case.
Prosecutors argue that these posts could taint the jury pool and endanger prosecutors, citing instances where Burke shared images of Assistant U.S. Attorney Tina Ansari and accused her of fabricating legal claims.
The proposed gag order would restrict public commentary on the case, limiting statements to general procedural updates or publicly available information. Prosecutors assert that the order is necessary to preserve the integrity of the trial and prevent undue influence on potential jurors.
On X Thursday, Dr. Haim said, “As if it couldn’t get any worse, the DOJ has now submitted a motion for a gag order. This comes after I exerted my First Amendment right to discuss a publicly available transcript from last week’s publicly accessible hearing.”
“The very hearing which the DOJ so thoroughly embarrassed themselves, where their incompetence and the unconstitutionality of their indictment was exposed to the world.
“So even though I’m a small-town general surgeon, never been recognized publicly, even though I have friends and colleagues who have never heard of my story, the DOJ wants to take away my first amendment right. And this is for a case where the DOJ is reinventing criminal law to make HIPAA not about patient privacy but about protecting powerful hospital systems that lie to the people they’re supposed to take care of (the indictment actually says the victims are “TCH and its physicians,” no mention of patients).
“And this is for a case where the conduct exposed resulted in the mutilation and sterilization of healthy, young children, which the hospital was lying about, which is illegal in Texas, which initiated a Texas AG investigation into the hospital, which was corroborated by another courageous whistleblower Vanessa Sivadge (@V_Sivadge). They believe that because I’m just a regular guy, they can intimidate me into silence. But my freedom to speak is more important than their desire to conceal their corruption. The harder they fight to take away my first amendment right, the harder I will fight to preserve it,” Haim concluded.
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