The prosecutor going after Dr. Eithan Haim, a transgender medicine whistleblower, has been recused from the case after information showed a major conflict of interest surrounding her family’s involvement in the hospital system at the center of the case.
To recap, in 2022, Texas Children’s Hospital was exposed for pushing “transgender medicine” on children, which encompasses puberty blockers, hormone treatments, and sex reassignment surgeries. Predictably, backlash ensued.
Following the backlash, executives at Texas Children’s claimed that the gender clinic would be shut down. However, with the help of a whistleblower, City Journal revealed that several doctors at the center continued to secretly provide this care.
A surgeon, Eithan Haim, bravely contacted the outlet to share that the hospital had lied about terminating the children’s transgender medicine program. These services, he claimed, including irreversible surgeries, were being offered to kids as young as 11, as Townhall covered.
In June 2023, Haim was scheduled to graduate from Texas Children’s residency program. That’s when federal agents appeared at his front door and informed him that they had identified him as the leaker in the story about transgender medicine for kids at the hospital. Afterwards, Assistant U.S. Attorney Tina Ansari began threatening Haim with prosecution.
According to Fox News, Ansari, assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Texas, has ties to Texas Children’s Hospital (TCH) and Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) (via Fox News):
In a Nov. 13, 2024 letter, Haim's lawyers notified the DOJ about what they believed to be an undisclosed conflict of interest that "Ms. Ansari’s close family members have substantial financial and political ties to third parties in this case, Texas Children’s Hospital (TCH) and Baylor College of Medicine (BCM), who may constitute victims and witnesses" in the criminal prosecution of Dr. Haim.
Ansari's family owns the Houston-based company Fresh Brew, which provides commercial coffee and vending contracts to hospitals, restaurants, airlines and hotels, including American Airlines, Aramark, MD Anderson, Memorial Herman and Harris Health, which contracts with BCM and TCH. The Texas Secretary of State lists Ansari as a former executive, but it is now managed by "MTDA Investments, Inc." and it is "likely" that Ansari "retains some financial interest in the company," Haim's lawyers alleged in their letter to the DOJ. Ansari's brother, Al Ansari, currently serves as president and CEO of Fresh Brew.
Haim's counsel reminded the DOJ 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 business associates have any interest," according to a copy of the letter reviewed by Fox News Digital.
Reportedly, on Nov. 20, the DOJ filed under seal a motion to withdraw Ansari as counsel from the case.
On that same day, the DOJ filed a motion for a gag order that did not include Ansari's signature, as well as a second superseding indictment in which she is no longer listed as counsel.
The next day, Nov. 21, the federal district court granted the DOJ’s motion to withdraw counsel.
In a comment to Fox News, Haim said that he believes Ansari abused her authority to exploit his vulnerability as a young surgeon, and added that now she has withdrawn from the case, perhaps she and her "sycophantic goons finally realize they went knocking on the wrong door."
"After over a year of Ms. Ansari’s troubling behavior, including prosecuting Dr. Haim without a law license, it was finally a bridge too far when it was revealed that she failed to disclose that her close family members have substantial financial and political ties to the hospitals involved in this case," Marcella Burke, attorney for Eithan Haim, told Fox News Digital. "The Department of Justice owes the public and our client an explanation for why Ms. Ansari was terminated from the case, the troubling conduct of this investigation and prosecution, and the ongoing weaponization of the federal government against Dr. Haim."