What does the Biden administration fear will be revealed if its poster child for transgender issues is required to give depositions during discovery in a transgender-related lawsuit?
The Department of Justice intervened in a lawsuit filed by Alabama’s attorney general defending his state’s ban of sex change surgeries on minors.
DOJ attorneys tried to shield Assistant Secretary for Health for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Admiral Rachel Levine from discovery during the Alabama litigation, according to a Fox News report.
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall is defending a state law that categorizes the prescription of puberty blockers or hormones to transgender minors for the purpose of a sex change as a felony.
Violators may face a prison sentence of up to 10 years.
The DOJ wants to join the lawsuit against this Alabama law. If the court grants the DOJ leave to intervene, that would make federal agencies viewed as subject matter experts open to the discovery process.
Discovery is a pre-trial procedure where parties provide and request evidence that includes depositions under oath.
Marshall sought the records of Levine, claiming she is a pivotal figure in the federal government’s support for sex changes for children diagnosed with gender dysphoria.
“It is not hyperbole to say that Admiral Levine is the leading public-facing official in the United States government when it comes to transitioning treatments for minors,” Alabama’s attorney general stated.
He claims Levine “routinely endorses puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones” for minors, educates physicians on treatments and supervises the HHS division that released guidelines supporting sex changes for minors.
“So if one were putting together a list of potential custodians at HHS concerning transitioning treatment for minors, Levine would be at the top,” Marshall said. “Levine obviously has communications and documents relevant to this litigation. Yet when Defendants requested that Levine be made a custodian, the United States refused.”
In response, the DOJ attempted to deflect the request, suggesting Levine’s former subordinate for discovery. They also proposed a FOIA response with unrelated search terms.
“The United States protested that Admiral Levine, as Assistant Secretary for Health, ‘is not herself conducting studies related to gender-affirming care nor is she employed at HHS as a researcher,'” the DOJ filing stated.
The DOJ added that instead of making Levine a custodian, they would provide responses to an unrelated third-party FOIA request that sought different information over a different timeframe related to Levine’s office.
Levine previously lauded a gender clinic named Identity Alaska, which promotes biological sex revisionism, even referring to mothers as “egg-producers,” and provides hormones to minors, according to the report.
The DOJ’s stance on the Alabama law is that it “denies necessary medical care to children based solely on who they are,” deeming it discriminatory against trans-identified youth, the Fox report noted.
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