In a lawsuit in Alabama concerning the state’s restriction on transgender sex transition treatments for children, the Department of Justice reportedly intervened to shield Biden appointee and Assistant Secretary for Health Dr. Rachel Levine from discovery.
Steve Marshall, the attorney general of Alabama, is defending a lawsuit against a state statute that deemed giving hormones or puberty blockers to transgender youngsters for sex transition a felony with a maximum 10-year jail sentence.
In a lawsuit against an Alabama statute prohibiting sex modifications for juveniles, the Department of Justice asked to be added as a party, opening up several federal agencies deemed authorities on the matter to discovery.
“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,” the attorney general of Alabama wrote in a court filing.
Before a trial, during the discovery phase of a lawsuit, the parties exchange evidence and make requests.
Marshall subsequently asked for Levine’s records since she is one of the main federal government advocates for sex modifications for children with gender dysphoria, particularly in the Health and Human Services Department.
The DOJ subsequently made an attempt to deny the request, offering Levine’s former employee in place of Levine for discovery as well as a FOIA response with unrelated search keywords, according to the complaint.
“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 filing read.
“Then, even more oddly, the United States said that rather than make Levine a custodian, it would send Defendants a copy of its responses to an unrelated third-party FOIA request seeking different information using different search terms over a different timespan related to Levine’s office.” it continued.
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