He did what? MAGA judge allows himself to view trans kids’ hospital records

“I have never seen an order like this."

That's how an attorney for Rhode Island's Child Advocate's office described the unusual order by a conservative federal judge in Texas — Judge Reed O’Connor wants to get his hands on the private medical records of transgender children in the Ocean State, essentially sidestepping the intentions of another lower court that sought to protect those files.

The clock is ticking: Rhode Island Hospital has until midnight Central Time Tuesday to comply.

Not only did Judge O’Connor tell hospital officials to hand over those files — in direct conflict with an order by a federal judge in Providence — he also ordered Rhode Island Hospital not to “cooperate” with anyone seeking to block the original Department of Justice subpoena that started this tug of war.

That would include Judge Mary McElroy, an appointee of President Donald Trump who responded to the plea of the Rhode Island Child Advocate’s office by lambasting Attorney General Todd Blanche's DOJ. McElroy said his prosecutors had misled O’Connor and their goal was to find a workaround in a “friendly forum,” such as North Texas, rather than in Rhode Island, where the records are actually located.

She criticized the government's subpoena as “drastic overreach” and said it was issued in “bad faith,” not for a legit investigation by federal law enforcement but for an “improper purpose.”

U.S. District Judge Mary McElroy of Rhode IslandU.S. Courts

So how did we get here?

The Rhode Island Office of the Child Advocate represents children and teens in state custody, some of whom are receiving treatment related to gender dysphoria.

Kevin Love Hubbard, an attorney there, and his boss Katelyn Medeiros, said they learned about the subpoena from a Justice Department press release. They quickly appealed to McElroy, and successfully argued that the DOJ subpoena violated the constitutional rights of the children and teens who would be outed as transgender to the federal government. McEloy agreed and blocked it.

According to the Department of Justice, prosecutors wanted the records as part of an investigation into doctors prescribing “off-label” puberty blockers to minors. While it is not illegal to prescribe drugs "off-label," the DOJ said it was looking into whether the doctors colluded with pharmaceutical companies, and that is against federal law.

But Rhode Island Hospital refused to comply, so on April 30th, the DOJ asked O'Connor to enforce the subpoena, which he did the very same day.

With a number of federal courts blocking efforts to get records like these from hospitals that offered gender-affirming care, the DOJ turned to what McEloy termed a "friendly forum": the courtroom of conservative Chief Judge Reed O'Connor. He was appointed by President George W. Bush in 2007 and is listed on the Federalist Society's website as having taken part in their events; McElroy is not.

The DOJ's explanation for why they turned to O'Connor was that their criminal investigation is taking place in Texas. And that investigation was spurred by the Trump administration's redefinition of gender-affirming care for minors as “child abuse,” and something it has repeatedly tried to end.

While McElroy avoided directly reversing O’Connor’s order, she said by quashing the subpoena her Texas counterpart had nothing left to enforce.

Well, O'Connor found a way — by issuing his new order to the hospital, declaring he was not violating McElroy’s order if he obtained the records himself.

“In light of the parallel litigation, pending appeals, conflicting court orders, and RIH’s refusal to produce responsive documents, the court finds it necessary and prudent for RIH to turn over all responsive documents compliant with the court’s enforcement order,” O’Connor wrote.

He also took a potshot at Rhode Island Hospital for failing to challenge the subpoena in court on its own, accusing the hospital of not only failing to comply with his original order but trying to circumvent his Texas court by going to Rhode Island — which is where the hospital and records originate.

“Such flagrant attempts to avoid compliance with lawful orders leads the court to conclude that it is necessary to hold the materials responsive to the subpoena in camera pending the outcome of the appeals,” O’Connor said. "In camera" is Latin for "in private." O'Connor specifically demanded that the records be turned over on USB flash drives.

So far, no word from Rhode Island Hospital as to whether they will give in to O'Connor's new demand.

In his order issued Monday, O’Connor wrote that he will not share the records with the Justice Department until the appeals in the case are exhausted.