Washington — In a significant development, a federal judge in Rhode Island has taken steps to refer Justice Department attorneys for potential disciplinary action due to their conduct in an investigation concerning transgender youth care at a local hospital. This decision follows earlier findings where the court concluded that the attorneys had provided misleading information and withheld critical details.
U.S. District Judge Mary McElroy issued the referral after nullifying an administrative subpoena from the Justice Department. This subpoena aimed to access extensive medical records of transgender minors treated at Rhode Island Hospital, as part of a broad inquiry into gender-transition medical practices.
Appointed in 2019 by President Trump, Judge McElroy criticized the subpoena in a ruling last month, stating it lacked a legitimate congressional purpose and was issued “for an improper purpose in bad faith.” She expressed strong disapproval of the Justice Department’s strategies in the case, contrasting them with the “honorable conduct” expected from prosecutors, which she found “unsettling.”
In her May 14 opinion, McElroy emphasized the vast prosecutorial power held by the Justice Department. She highlighted the trust placed in federal prosecutors by citizens, expecting fairness and honesty, especially when dealing with states, companies, or vulnerable populations like children. She concluded that the DOJ had “proven unworthy of this trust at every point in this case.”
Judge McElroy further charged the Justice Department’s lawyers with presenting falsehoods under oath and withholding information from both her court and a federal court in Texas. She accused them of attempting to conceal their investigative methods—methods previously rejected by other courts—from her jurisdiction in favor of a more favorable venue aligned with the DOJ’s political interests.
The judge was referring to the Justice Department’s decision to seek an order from a judge in Fort Worth, Texas, that would compel Rhode Island Hospital to turn over the documents sought by the administrative subpoena last year.
In its effort to obtain the order from the Texas court, a Justice Department lawyer named Lisa Hsiao said in a declaration that Rhode Island Hospital failed to comply with the subpoena and stopped communicating with the department in February. But McElroy, the Rhode Island judge, said that claim was “clearly misleading, if not utterly false,” because representatives from Rhode Island Hospital had responded to an email from Justice Department lawyers about search terms for compliance with the subpoena.
“This reckless disregard for the duty of candor owed to a federal court is appalling,” McElroy wrote.
The judge also questioned the Justice Department’s decision to pursue enforcement of the subpoena in Texas, noting that Hsiao and other government lawyers who appear to be assigned to the investigation are based in Washington, D.C. Still, the Texas court went on to grant the Justice Department’s bid to enforce compliance with the subpoena and ordered Rhode Island Hospital in late April to turn over all records covered by the demand. The hospital has appealed the decision.
The Justice Department’s Civil Division denied McElroy’s claims about its lawyers in a statement earlier this week.
“Such accusations against Department attorneys are rare and serious. The Department treats them accordingly and is committed to taking all appropriate remedial action where warranted,” it said.
The Justice Department continued: “The Civil Division has thoroughly reviewed the District Court’s allegations and concluded that they are without merit. Our attorneys did not misrepresent facts, withhold relevant information, or otherwise mislead the Court.”