Virginia man found guilty of stealing Justice Ginsburg’s medical records

A former health care worker from Virginia has been convicted of accessing U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s medical records, which were later shared on an online message board, according to prosecutors.

Trent James Russell, 34, was working as an organ transplant coordinator in January 2019 when he remotely accessed Ginsburg’s medical records and took a screenshot of her protected health information.

Those records were then posted on the message board 4chan, revealing private medical information about the justice, who was battling cancer at the time. Ginsburg died in September 2020.

Russell’s access to medical records was disabled on February 10, 2019, after which he reformatted his computer in an apparent attempt to destroy evidence. He also lied to FBI agents during an interview, claiming his phone had been stolen.

Russell has denied being responsible for the leak, arguing that he and others in his office were sharing passwords. His attorney described him as an apolitical former Army medic who voted for President Barack Obama in 2012.

“I never shared medical information for anybody except for authorized” reasons,” Russell told the jury, according to CNN. Prosecutors, citing his search history, suggested Russell’s actions may have been motivated by antisemitism.

On Wednesday, Russell was convicted of obtaining another person’s healthcare information and destroying evidence in a federal investigation. He could face up to 20 years in prison when he’s sentenced on November 7, though actual sentences are usually lower than the maximum.