Whitehouse Calls for Investigation into DOJ’s Avoidance of Accountability for Misconduct in Rhode Island Hospital Case

New letter questions why Civil Division was allowed to investigate its own lawyers – typically the role of the independent OPR

Conflict arose after Rhode Island Hospital was subpoenaed for providing gender-affirming care

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Courts Subcommittee, sent a letter to Acting Inspector General William Blier requesting an investigation into why the Department of Justice’s Civil Division, rather than the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR), reviewed the conduct of its own attorneys after a judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island accused those lawyers of serious misconduct.

Whitehouse wrote, “As you know, DOJ’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) has long been a disinterested arbiter of misconduct complaints against Department attorneys precisely to avoid the inherent conflict of interest that arises when a component investigates its own personnel.  The highly unusual action by the Civil Division in this instance—and the inaction by OPR—deserves scrutiny.”

Last July, DOJ’s Civil Division subpoenaed Rhode Island Hospital for the sensitive medical information of every minor patient receiving gender-affirming care as part of a nationwide investigation into alleged “health care fraud.”  In April 2026, after DOJ stopped responding to the Hospital for two months, the Department filed a petition to enforce the subpoena in a federal court in Texas—with no notice to the Hospital.  DOJ lawyers failed to disclose to the Texas court that DOJ had ceased communications with the Hospital, instead implying that the Hospital refused to comply with the subpoena.  The Texas court granted DOJ’s petition and ordered the Hospital to comply, without giving it the chance to correct the misrepresentation.

Rhode Island Hospital and the Child Advocate for the State of Rhode Island filed an emergency motion to quash the subpoena in the District of Rhode Island.  Lawyers from DOJ’s Civil Division once again failed to disclose to the judge in Rhode Island that they ceased communications in February 2026.  That judge granted the motion to quash, condemning the DOJ lawyers’ conduct as “misleading,” “deceptive,” and a “reckless disregard for the duty of candor.”  The judge has referred the matter to the full District Court in Rhode Island for further review of any misconduct.

In response to the judge’s ruling, DOJ issued a statement that its Civil Division reviewed the Rhode Island judge’s statements regarding the Civil Division attorneys’ conduct and “concluded that they are without merit.”

“Not only is the Civil Division’s response to the court’s concerns insufficient, but its review of misconduct allegations concerning its own attorneys is highly unusual and rife with the potential for conflicts of interest,” Whitehouse continued.  “Precisely to avoid such conflicts, OPR has long had ‘exclusive jurisdiction to investigate allegations of misconduct made against Department attorneys and law enforcement personnel that relate to the attorneys’ exercise of their authority to investigate, litigate, or provide legal advice.’  OPR’s traditional function as an independent arbiter of such matters inside the Department has been essential to maintaining the integrity of attorney investigations.”

The Civil Division did not explain why it reviewed these allegations instead of OPR or the process by which the Civil Division determined the allegations were without merit.

“This incident only compounds questions about whether OPR remains a viable avenue for holding Department lawyers accountable given that in March 2025 President Trump fired the career attorney who was the Director of OPR and still has not named a replacement, as well as the recent radio silence from OPR in response to misconduct complaints,” Whitehouse concluded.

Whitehouse requested an immediate investigation into why the Civil Division, rather than OPR, reviewed the Rhode Island District Court’s serious allegations of misconduct against Civil Division lawyers practicing before the court – including an examination of whether the OPR is still operational and capable of conducting independent, reliable investigations of DOJ attorneys accused of misconduct.

Whitehouse has repeatedly called on OPR to investigate allegations of prosecutorial misconduct, political interference, and ethics violations within the corrupt and chaotic MAGA DOJ.  In November, Senators Whitehouse, Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Adam Schiff (D-CA) submitted a FOIA request to OPR regarding Emil Bove’s multiple ethics violations after receiving no response to their formal complaint.

Full text of the letter is below and a PDF is available here.