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Join Telegram ChannelThe prosecutor leading the prosecution of transgender medicine whistleblower Dr. Eithan Haim has been recused from the case after reports revealed a major conflict of interest regarding his family's involvement in the hospital system.
Haim was the subject of an ongoing criminal case brought by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) after he leaked documents to the media revealing that Texas Children's Hospital in Houston performed transgender medical procedures on minors until May 2023, despite the fact that hospital leaders announced they had stopped offering sex reassignment surgeries and puberty blockers the previous year.
Tina Ansari, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas, charged Haim with violating the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which protects patients' health information and gives patients rights over their health records.
In a November 13, 2024 letter, Haim's lawyers informed the DOJ of what they believed to be an undisclosed conflict of interest that “members of Ms. Ansari's immediate family have substantial financial and political ties to third parties in this matter, Texas Children's Hospital (TCH) and Baylor College of Medicine (BCM), who may serve as victims and witnesses” in the criminal proceedings against Dr. Haim.
Eithan Haim (Eithan Haim)
The Ansari family owns Houston-based Fresh Brew, which provides commercial coffee and sales contracts to hospitals, restaurants, airlines and hotels, including American Airlines, Aramark, MD Anderson, Memorial Herman and Harris Health, which sign contracts with BCM and TCH. The Texas Secretary of State lists Ansari among its former officers, but the company is now managed by “MTDA Investments, Inc.” and it is “likely” that Ansari “retains some financial interest in the company,” Haim’s lawyers asserted in their letter to the DOJ. Ansari's brother, Al Ansari, currently serves as president and CEO of Fresh Brew.
Haim's lawyer reminded the Justice Department that the Supreme Court has established that “federal prosecutors are prohibited from representing the government in any matter in which they, their family or their associates have an interest,” according to a copy of the letter reviewed by Fox. Digital News.
On November 20, the DOJ filed under seal a motion to remove Ansari as counsel from the case. The same day, they filed a motion seeking a gag order that does not include Ansari's signature, as well as a second indictment in which she is no longer listed as an attorney. Then, on November 21, the federal district court granted the DOJ's motion to remove its attorney.
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Haim was a resident at Baylor College of Medicine from June 2018 to June 2023 and worked at Texas Children's Hospital during part of his residency. In one piece published in the City Journal of the Manhattan Institute, Haim claimed that three days after announcing the halt to transgender medical procedures, a surgeon implanted a hormonal device in an 11-year-old girl who suffered from gender dysphoria. Then, over the next year, Haim said several colleagues told him they were implanting puberty-blocking devices in minors who identified as transgender.
Justice Department prosecutors have alleged that medical records sent by Dr. Haim to journalist Chris Rufo were released with the children's names, but Haim's lawyers say all patient information was redacted. Notably, HIPAA regulations authorize the disclosure of protected information to stop serious medical malpractice. Haim said he and his wife spent more than $200,000 fighting the DOJ.
Between the initial indictment on May 29 and the second indictment on October 10, the DOJ changed some of its language, removing any mention of “HIPAA protected” information and changed the victims of the alleged harm caused by Haim’s actions in “TCH doctors and patients.” to “TCH and its doctors”.
Haim told Fox News Digital that he believed Ansari abused his authority to exploit her vulnerability as a young surgeon, but added that now that she has removed herself from the case, perhaps she and her “sycophantic henchmen finally realize that they have knocked on the wrong door”.
Tina's Conflict Map (Eithan Haim)
“After more than a year of troubling behavior by Ms. Ansari, including suing Dr. Haim without legal authority, it was ultimately a bridge too far when it was revealed that she had failed to disclose that members of her “Immediate family had substantial financial and political ties to the hospitals involved in this case,” Marcella Burke, Eithan Haim's attorney, told Fox News Digital. “The Department of Justice owes the public and our client an explanation of why Ms. Ansari was excluded from the case, the troubling conduct of this investigation and prosecution, and the continued militarization of the federal government against Dr. Haim.”
Notably, in 2023, while the investigation into Haim was ongoing, Al Ansari attended a TCH “VIP reception” fundraiser hosted by new TCH President and now CEO Dr. Debra Sukin, who raised more than $400,000 for new TCH facilities. Ansari also co-sponsored two separate TCH fundraising events, including one in May 2024, which raised more than $1 million. Al, along with his aunt and uncle, Masoud and Sima Ladjevardian, were on the list of sponsors. At another benefit in September 2024, which raised over $400,000, Fresh Brew and Al Ansari were listed as sponsors.
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Sima Ladjevardian is politically active in Houston and within the hospital system. In April 2022, she spoke at an event on April 13, 2022, where she presented a check for $1.1 million to BCM President and CEO Dr. Paul Klotman and CEO from Harris Health, Dr. Esmaeil Porsa, from Democratic Rep. Sylvia Garcia.
Ladjevardian is an attorney and former congressional candidate for District 2 of the United States House of Representatives in Texas, who ran on the policy of providing affordable access to health care for all. During her campaign in which she challenged Republican Congressman Dan Crenshaw, she was profiled by local LGBTQ magazine, OutSmart, which described her as a fundraiser for TCH and BCM and highlighted her support for the Equality Act of 2019 which codified “gender identity” into civil rights. law.
During the 2020 congressional campaign, Ladjevardian raised more than $16,000 from BCM doctors and was endorsed by the Human Rights Campaign. After losing the race to Crenshaw, President Biden nominated Ladjevardian to serve as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) regional director for Region 6.
Since August 2023, Ladjevardian has served on the Harris Health Board of Directors for the Harris County Health System. She serves alongside Afsheen Davis, general counsel and vice president of TCH, on the quality committee, which oversees Harris Health's research with affiliated academic institutions, including BCM where Haim completed her residency.
X Corp and media outlet Not The Bee have both filed suit independently, filing motions to intervene and unseal critical documents in the case, which they say were sealed without clear justification.
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Haim's lawyers say the government's “actions had the dual purpose of stifling criticism of the prosecution and silencing commentary on transgender pediatric procedures,” according to their response to the order. silence.
Both Not The Bee and X have argued that the American public has an interest and a right under the First Amendment to know what the government is pursuing.
“Striped of its rhetoric, the government's motion for an order to gag the public speech of defendant Eithan Haim and his attorney seeks to achieve a single goal: suppressing public reaction to the use (or “abuse) by the government of prosecutorial discretion in this action,” the statement said. Reading movement X.
Haim told Fox News Digital that for nearly a year he has faced all the power of the federal government seeking first to intimidate him into silence and then to make him an example to other throwers. 'alert.
“Speaking out publicly and through my lawyers was my only defense. Now that I am in court, I am happy to have the opportunity to put this story into the court record as well,” he said. declared. “I am grateful to X Corp. and Not the Bee for supporting my right to speak out, as well as to the many others who have helped me, including the countless members of the public who have contributed to my defense. We We will succeed in stopping the government from abusing whistleblowers and child abuse doctors.
Fox News Digital has contacted Tina Ansari, Al Ansari and Sima Ladjevardian for comment.
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Fox News' Brian Flood and Nate Foy contributed to this report.