A former health care worker who illegally accessed Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's health records before her death was sentenced Thursday to two years in prison.
Trent Russell, 34, of Bellevue, Nebraska, was working as a transplant coordinator for the Washington Area Transplant Community at the time and had access to hospital records throughout the region, but earlier this year he illegally accessed medical records and He was found guilty of destroying medical records. Tampering with records in jury trials.
He was also charged with publishing information online in 2019, when speculation about Ginsburg's health and ability to serve as a judge was the subject of public debate.
Prosecutors said Ginsburg posted that information along with a false claim that she was already dead. But the jury acquitted Russell on that count.
Ginsburg served on the court until her death in 2020.
Prosecutors said it was unclear what motivated Russell's actions, even though he disclosed the health records on a forum that trafficked in anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, including one that Ginsburg died.
In fact, Russell himself never admitted to having accessed the records, suggesting at one point that perhaps his cat had walked across the keyboard, inadvertently calling up Ginsburg's data.
Mr. Russell's excuses and refusal to accept responsibility drew fierce criticism from prosecutors, who asked for a 30-month prison sentence.
“He kept a straight face and gave an excuse that was completely unbelievable,” prosecutor Zoe Bedell said.
Russell's attorney, Charles Burnham, asked for a sentence of probation or home detention. He cited Russell's life-saving work as a transplant coordinator and military history, including a deployment to Afghanistan, as mitigating factors.
“Mr. Russell has lived a quietly heroic life,” Burnham wrote in court documents. He described the criminal act as “stupid.”
U.S. District Judge Michael Nachmanoff called his crime “a truly despicable act” and sentenced him to 24 months in prison.
“You made it very difficult to understand what motivated you,” Nakhamanov said. He said Russell made matters worse by lying to investigators and witnesses.
“You chose to blame your cat,” Nakhamanov said.
The court record in this case has been carefully redacted to remove references to Ginsburg, but during the trial and at Thursday's sentencing hearing, all parties publicly identified Ginsburg as the victim of a privacy violation. I admitted it.
Indeed, her status as a public figure has sparked debate about the seriousness of Russell's crimes. Prosecutors said her age and illness, along with her high profile, made her a particularly vulnerable victim.
“He accompanied a Supreme Court justice who was elderly and ill and whose illness was a matter of public concern,” Bedell argued.
Meanwhile, Ms. Russell's lawyers argued that Ms. Ginsburg's high status and accompanying power were the opposite of vulnerability.
In handing down his sentence, Nakhanov said he took into account the fact that Russell has an ill stepparent who may need care. The judge “sarcastically” noted that details of the stepparent's health issues were kept secret.
“Why? That's not what you provided to Justice Ginsburg because it's confidential health information,” he said.
Russell and his attorney declined to comment after Thursday's hearing on whether they planned to appeal.
