Health care worker sentenced to 2 years for accessing Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s medical records

The former health care worker who obtained Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s health records before her death was sentenced to two years in prison on Thursday.

Trent Russell, 34, of Bellevue, Nebraska, who was working at the time as a transplant coordinator for the Transplant Society of Washington County and had access to hospital records throughout the region, was sentenced earlier this year for illegally obtaining health care records and destroying or altering records in court.

He was also accused of publishing that information online in 2019, at a time when public speculation about Ginsburg’s health and her ability to serve as a justice was the subject of public debate.

Prosecutors say he posted the information along with a false claim that Ginsburg was dead. But the jury acquitted Russell of the crime.

Ginsburg served on the court until her death in 2020.

Prosecutors said Russell disclosed health records on forums that peddled anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, including false theories that Ginsburg was dead, but Russell’s motive for his actions was unclear. it was not clear.

Indeed, Russell himself never admitted to having found the recordings, at one point suggesting that his cat may have accidentally walked on the keyboard in the way it did. called Ginsburg’s identity.

Russell’s reasons and refusal to take responsibility caused the prosecutors who wanted a 30-month sentence to strongly criticize him.

“He made no sense with a straight face,” prosecutor Zoe Bedell said.

Russell’s attorney, Charles Burnham, sought a prison sentence or house arrest. He cited Russell’s life-saving work as a transplant coordinator and his military record that included a deployment to Afghanistan as mitigating factors.

“Mr. Russell lived the quiet life of a hero,” Burnham wrote in court papers. He accused the criminal behavior of being “stupid.”

US District Judge Michael Nachmanoff’s sentence of 24 months called his crime “absolutely despicable conduct.”

“He made it very difficult to understand what motivated you,” Nachmanoff said. He said Russell made matters worse by lying to investigators and about evidence.

“You chose to blame your cat,” Nachmanoff said.

Court filings in the case have been carefully edited to remove mention of Ginsburg, but during the trial and at Thursday’s sentencing hearing, all sides openly acknowledged that Ginsburg was the victim of a privacy violation.

His status as a public figure, of course, fueled debate about the seriousness of Russell’s crime. Prosecutors say his high social status, in addition to his age and illness, made him a vulnerable victim.

Bedell argued: “He went with a Supreme Court judge who was old, sick, and whose illness was a public concern.

On the other hand, Russell’s lawyer argued that Ginsburg’s high office and the power that comes with it are different from being vulnerable.

Nachmanoff, in handing down his sentence, said he took into account the fact that Russell has a sick stepparent who may need care. The judge noted “sarcastically” that details about the stepparent’s health problems were being confirmed.

“Why? Because it’s sensitive health information — a benefit you didn’t give Justice Ginsburg,” he said.

Russell and his attorney declined to comment after Thursday’s hearing on whether they plan to appeal.