Enjoy the taste of summer no matter what the weather, when you head to Maverick for some Mountain Dew Baja Blast. You'll love the legendary, refreshing, tropical lime flavor. And to make the sweetness last longer, Maverick now has it in one liter bottles. For a limited time, get two for five bucks, single purchase regular price. Plus, adventure club members get 25 bonus trail points with purchase. So blast into Maverick today and enjoy that unmistakable Baja flavor.
Maverick Adventures First Stop It's better all here. AT&T customers, switching to T-Mobile has never been easier. We'll pay off your existing phone and give you a new one free, all on America's largest 5G network. Visit T-Mobile.com slash Carrier Freedom to switch today. This episode contains allegations about sexual and dating violence and includes references
to disordered eating that may be triggering for some listeners. Previously on The Dropout, Elizabeth Holmes returned to the stand, presenting herself as a true believer in her company. Her whole presentation is a study in contrast and contradictions because on the one hand, they're showing her to be naive and trusting. And yet when you have her testify, she is clearly in control of the technology and she understands it in great depth.
She admitted to altering documents and reframe the narrative, repeatedly blaming others and citing trade secrets as an excuse for alleged deceptions. Sure, the ingredients in Coke are a trade secret. What Coke does not do is go by a whole trailer full of Pepsi and put it in Coke cans. This week, the most jaw-dropping testimony in this trial yet.
Elizabeth, fighting back tears, telling the court she was raped when she was at Stanford, and claiming she was in an emotional and physically abusive relationship with her former boyfriend and Theranos co-o, Sunny Bellwani. Allegations he's firmly denied. I personally was surprised at how far her testimony went in terms of bolstering the defense case. Sure, they lost a few battles, but maybe they're going to win the war.
Plus, the government begins its cross-examination. Do these charges of abuse negate the allegations of fraud? The problem though is that this is not an indictment of their relationship. This question is whether she swindled investors out of three quarters of the billion dollars. Which story will jurors believe? From ABC Audio, this is The Dropout, Elizabeth Holmes on trial. I'm Rebecca Jarvis. Episodes 16. Accusations and evasions. At this point, we've seen Elizabeth Holmes walk into the
San Jose Courthouse dozens of times. We've seen her address audiences of thousands, like this one, at Vanity Fair's New Establishment Summit. We've seen her face off with the SEC. But we've never seen the unflappable Theranos founder, like we did this week. Emotional on the stand. Dropping bombshell after bombshell. It started with a seemingly innocent question from defense attorney Kevin Downey. Let's talk for a little bit about Mr. Balwani's role at Theranos.
Elizabeth, then in staggering detail, launched into a shocking account of her relationship with Sunny Balwani, her former boyfriend and Theranos co. A man she accused of physical, emotional, and even sexual abuse. Elizabeth began by telling the court she first met Sunny in China. She was 18. He was 38. It's a story we've heard in both their SEC depositions. I met Ms. Holmes in 2002 in China. We were in the same Stanford program at Beijing University.
The entire department knew about her Chinese skills. When I first met her, I'm like, oh, you must be the Elizabeth Holmes. What did you understand about Mr. Balwani's background when you met him? Downey asked that he'd been a really successful business person, that he'd worked with Bill Gates in the early days of Microsoft, built a successful company which he sold to big companies, Elizabeth said. Elizabeth testified that she interacted regularly with Sunny over the summer
before college. When she got to Stanford, they stayed in touch. But then Elizabeth dropped out. Downey shifted his attention to why. In addition to wanting to start a company, what were the other reasons that you departed Stanford, he asked? Then came Elizabeth's bombshell number one. Fighting back tears, Elizabeth told the court, I was raped when I was at Stanford, and I decided to leave to pour myself into building
Theronauts. ABC News court producer Miles Cohen was sitting in the courtroom a few rows back from Elizabeth as she shared this new information. The smiles that we saw on her first day of testimony went away. You know, it seemed as if she was holding back tears. She was speaking slowly, and that eye contact she had with the jury was now focused on her attorney as she told her story.
Elizabeth's assertion had been hinted at previously. In a pretrial document filed by the defense in January 2020, there's a line item that reads, Santa Clara Police Department Records, October 5, 2003, rape. But this was the first time Elizabeth herself acknowledged it publicly. An actual police report has not been entered into evidence at this time. We asked Elizabeth's defense team to provide us with a copy of the report, but did not receive a response.
Elizabeth told the court that after the alleged sexual assault, she wasn't going to class, and was questioning what she wanted to do with her life, and that she decided she was going to build a life by building a company. She went to sunny with this dream and asked for his advice. They formed an intimate relationship, and as she testified, he told her she was safe now. When Elizabeth was 21 years old, they moved in together in 2005. It would be another four years
before sunny would officially start working at Theron Oses, the COO in 2009. But in the interim, Elizabeth told the court, the pair would talk about her company. Did he give you his reflections on whether he thought you had the talents to succeed? Ask Downey? He did, Elizabeth answered. He told me that I didn't know what I was doing in business, that my convictions were wrong, that he was astonished at my mediocrity, and that if I followed my instincts, I was going to fail.
And that I needed to kill the person that I was to become what he would call a new Elizabeth, who could be a successful entrepreneur, she testified. And what did Elizabeth believe sunny meant by kill the old Elizabeth? Elizabeth, that meant that who I was was never going to be a person that could succeed in life or in business, and I needed to kill that person and become a new Elizabeth, she testified.
Elizabeth told the court that sunny was very descriptive with how she should behave if she wanted to become a successful entrepreneur. He said I needed to spend all of my time on the business, and that I should only be spending time with people who could help the business to be successful, that I needed to be working seven days a week, I needed to be in the office seven days a week,
and I needed to be only doing things that could contribute to making the company successful, which meant not sleeping very much, eating only foods that would make me pure, or able to have the most energy possible for the company, having a very disciplined and intense lifestyle, she said. Recall this is exactly how Elizabeth portrayed herself in a profile in the New Yorker, where she told journalists cannelleta she didn't have time for friends or relationship.
It was the same thing in an interview on CBS with Noro Donald. Let me ask a little bit about you. Do you own a TV? No. Why not? I work all the time, and I'm basically in the office from the time I wake up and then working until I go to sleep every day. During the questioning, defense attorney Downey focused on several personal communications between Elizabeth and sunny. Beginning with a handwritten note, sunny allegedly gave Elizabeth
some time between 2005 and 2009. It was labeled non-negotiables. Every morning, I will force myself out of bed and spend 30 minutes to write what I want from my day. Downey read aloud. And then in the bottom right, there's a little bit of a quadrant Downey continued. Can you explain what you understood that meant? Elizabeth explained that this was sunny describing where a good leader should spend their time.
The best leaders always spend their time in what he labeled quadrant two, which is on important, but not urgent things, meaning focusing on the vision and the big picture. Downey went on to the second paragraph. I will never meet with anyone for more than five minutes unless I have written down why. The note continued, I will always give crisp, clean goals and feedback to my subordinates. And the single most important ingredient to this secret sauce is discipline.
In the actual notes entered into evidence, there are two additional bullet points which weren't read aloud in court, but caught our eye. The first one, I will learn what makes them tick and use that as bait to motivate them. The second, create a file for each person you deal with. Neither Downey nor Elizabeth acknowledged this part aloud in court, but it's there if the jurors want to read it. Downey then entered into evidence, a schedule Elizabeth had jotted down for herself
on hotel stationary. Stationary that, by the way, came from the Raffles Hotel in Singapore. It runs about a thousand dollars a night, but that was something Downey didn't mention. The schedule which Elizabeth told the court was directed by Sonny started at 4 a.m. with Elizabeth thanking God. The words, most things are not logical, written next to it. From 445 to 520, there was a workout. A prayer session was scheduled for 620.
There were also instructions for lunch and dinner. Lunch, salad with tofu, tabooly and a green drink. Dinner, broccoli with quinoa. Why is that there, Downey asked? This was part of focusing only on foods that could give me the most energy to be the best entrepreneur and the most successful
that I could be working all of the time. Remember, this is also something Elizabeth played up in her New Yorker profile, where Candle letter wrote, she's a vegan, and several times a day she drinks a pulverized concoction of cucumber, parsley, kale, spinach, romaine lettuce and celery. The jot-it-down note also included what Elizabeth described as tenets, instructions to herself about how to have a successful day, such as, I do everything I say, word for word. I am never
a minute late. I show no excitement. Calm, direct, pointed, non-emotional, all about business. I am not impulsive. I do not react. I speak rarely. When I do, crisp and concise. My hands are always in my pockets or gesturing. I am fully present. Sonny felt like I came across as a little girl, and that I needed to be more serious and pointed, and not be giddy in my interactions, said Elizabeth. Did you implement what Mr. Balwani told you would lead to success in your efforts
to make Theranos a successful company? I tried to. Answered Elizabeth. White collar defense attorney Caroline Polisey thinks the notes were an effective tool for the defense. I thought that the contemporaneous notes that she took were actually quite compelling, whereas I may not have been inclined to believe a story that consisted solely of her memories of how the relationship played out. I was persuaded by the notes that had these instructions on them
for her. It gave me a really vivid picture of what this relationship was like, and I do think that it has the potential to really pay off for the defense. But litigator Jay Edelsen, the founder and CEO of Edelsen PC, says it's a question of whether the jury actually trusts Elizabeth in the first place. Will they believe Sonny directed these notes? Or might they think Elizabeth wrote them of her own volition? I think that the core problem that a defense has,
where she's essentially on trial for being a terrific conwoman. And when the jury has heard weeks and weeks of evidence that you're really skilled at what you do, anything you say is going to be met with skepticism. So as I'm listening to her testimony, there were parts of it which definitely were pulling my heartstrings, but I'm also thinking she's a pretty good liar, or she's got to somehow
convince the jury that she has some ounce of credibility. When Elizabeth couldn't comply with the tenets, she testified, Sonny would get very angry with me and would yell at me about the fact that he was so disappointed in my mediocrity and the fact that he was trying and trying to teach me how to be better and said I was never going to be successful. Then came another major bombshell.
Elizabeth told the court Sonny wouldn't only yell when he was angry. He would sometimes come upstairs to our bedroom and he would force me to have sex with him when I didn't want to, because he would say that he wanted me to know that he still loved me, she said, slowing down as she spoke and appearing to fight back tears again. According to Elizabeth, this behavior persisted throughout their decade-long, romantic relationship. Downey then pulled up an iPhone note from February
2015 that Elizabeth told the court she'd written after one such incident with Sonny. Downey said he wanted to focus on the first three lines of the note, which read, don't enjoy literally anything about it or who I am if I did it, hurt so much, so so much, can't focus on anything except why, why hurting myself, can't even move, let alone do sit-ups or actually sit up, lying swollen,
literally. Downey asked Elizabeth what she meant by this. I'm reacting to one of those incidents with Mr. Bellwani and I'm writing about the fact that I couldn't move and I couldn't sit up and that I was lying there swollen and that I couldn't understand why I was hurting myself, why I wasn't leaving, Elizabeth answered. And how was the jury reacting to hearing this for the first time? Here's ABC News court producer Miles Cohen. When she recounted the alleged abuse,
she said she suffered at the hands of Sonny Bellwani, it was dead silent. This has been a really hard jury to read. They don't yon, they don't laugh, they don't smile, but they seem diligent, they're paying attention and when Holmes was telling her story about the abuse she said she suffered, they were focused on her. The note was a long stream of consciousness and went on for many more lines, which Elizabeth did not read aloud in court, including, feel sick fat, not good about myself,
want a force throw up, feel sick. During day, just thought eat all psychologically attracted to, eight then felt sick, still sick. We'll go get rid of sweets from house. Please God, I pray. I really want to make myself throw up right now, opposite of Clinton Foundation or anytime I haven't eaten when my energy puts me in flight. I get more done then because I zone in. Now, I'm just distracted, tired, it's 943 at the office and it's a sick negative cycle.
Downey then read text messages between Elizabeth and Sonny from around the same time. I'm sorry I wasn't stronger for you this morning, that is my responsibility in my role. I will never let that happen again. Elizabeth wrote to Sonny, Sonny responded, I am strong enough for me and you and then some. I don't need you to be strong for me. Elizabeth replied, I have the privilege of being able to calm you as a mother energy. My job is
to love you when you're stressed. Downey asked Elizabeth what she meant by mother energy. Elizabeth said she thought her role was to calm Sonny when he was angry and that she hadn't been able to do that. Elizabeth also told the court her relationship with Sonny damaged her relationship with her family, testifying Sonny would get very upset if I was with my family because he said
it was a distraction to the business. As evidence, Downey referenced a text message where Sonny wrote Elizabeth, when your family is here I feel lonely because you spend a total of 10 seconds with me a day. Elizabeth texted back, I hate this. Downey asked Elizabeth to explain the messages. He's angry with me because he feels like when my family came for Thanksgiving that I was not paying attention to him, she said. Elizabeth testified when she and Sonny began working together
his criticisms continued. For example, Sonny texted her, you are speaking with everyone in your giddy voice, excessive use of awesome, you are rambling now. Let's stay focused. When Theronos began seeing success in 2014, Elizabeth said Sonny told her he had built me into who I was. In December 2014, he wrote, I love you, I admire your wisdom and strength and your decency and kindness. And Elizabeth replied, you know what these things coming from you mean to me. What you say to me
equals my confidence. What were you referring to there? Downey asked that how he felt about me was my confidence, Elizabeth replied. Here's attorney Caroline Polisey. I think it's a very humanizing aspect to Elizabeth Holmes. When I read them, it sort of made me a little sad because it really does show just how not only committed, but almost, and I hesitate to use the word brainwashed, but she really was hanging on his every word.
There's one text exchange where she says, no literally, you give me my confidence. Your opinion of me is my only opinion of myself. That is, you know, a sad situation, I think, by anyone's account. Elizabeth also told the court she took notes on her iPhone of conversations where Sonny berated her. Downey read some of them allowed to the court. One said, women battle dress like men
toughen up, become masculine and battle. Elizabeth explained that Sonny felt that I was too feminine, that I was like a little girl, and that I needed to be more like a man if I wanted to be in business. Another said, I'm so sick and tired of this mediocrity you create. I don't want to work with you anymore. Elizabeth explained what Sonny was saying to me was that he was exhausted working with me because I couldn't be successful. I was a monkey that was trying to fly a spaceship.
Again, these were all reflections based on notes Elizabeth took on her iPhone about things Sonny allegedly said. Downey read another, I don't enjoy being in a company that's not going to win. I don't have the faith biggest failure of my life. Regret coming stayed because I love you. Elizabeth explained that meant Sonny had been telling me what to do and how to become the successful person because he loved me but that he was incredibly angry with me because I wasn't ever able to
become that. Elizabeth told the court that Sonny had taught her everything that she thought she knew about business and that she thought Sonny was the best business person that she knew. Remember Sonny has strongly denied Elizabeth's accusations but also indicated if called to testify he would plead the fifth so he's not going to be called to counter any of Elizabeth's claims in this trial. What precisely was the defense hoping to do by introducing these extensive accusations
against Sonny? It's about intent and as Caroline Polisi tells us it's the heart of the defense's cakes. What the defense is doing is to lay the foundation to really dig into how the abuse may have had an effect on Holmes's ability really to appreciate the nature and quality of potentially the wrongfulness of whatever acts the government is alleging and so it's kind of a way for the
defense to have it both ways. She could simultaneously appear to be a very in control on the ball business person while at the same time she was affected by this more subtle and serious kind of defect that somehow permeated her decision making functions and her ability to perceive right and wrong. But Jay Edelsson says it's a long shot whether the jury buys that argument. The defense wants to make this about intent. She didn't have the intent to defraud because she
was being controlled and was in such a toxic relationship. It's just such a stretch to me. Perhaps if it was a one-time thing and she's feeling so much pressure that's an argument that could be a little stickier but when you're talking about years of systematic fraud it just to me is a non-starter. However the defense they don't need to get all of the jurors. If they get one who buys into the emotional argument of everyone was a victim because Sonny was a horrible person
maybe there's a hung jury. Elizabeth went on to recount how everything with Sonny changed with the 2015 CMS audit. I had gone into that inspection thinking that we had one of the best labs in the world and the findings from those inspections were so fundamentally different from what I believed she testified. Elizabeth told the court her response to the bad audit was to bring in outside experts, hire new lab directors and attempt to fix the problems but Sonny she testified didn't
approve of these changes. Six months after the inspection in May 2016 Sonny left there and else. As Elizabeth told the jury he wasn't who I thought he was and I realized that if I was going to fix the issues and allow the company to see through its potential I had to do that without him in the company she said. Elizabeth said the same month Sonny left the company she moved out of their shared home and their romantic relationship ended as well. It was something we'd heard from
Christian homes when he was deposed for a civil lawsuit against Theronauts. Did your sister and Mr. Bojone stop living together before or after he left Theronauts? I don't know his exact termination date but it was right around the same time. Did you think of the time that there was a connection between him leaving the company and him and your sister stopping living together? In the sense that there was an overhaul in the management structure and there was a reflection
of that in her personal life. Sure. As it turns out it was Christian who helped Elizabeth move out of her shared home with Sonny while Sonny was away in Thailand shortly after the CMS inspection and how did Sonny react? Down he asked. He said he was getting on a plane to come back, said Elizabeth. But there was no point. Elizabeth had decided the relationship was over for good.
Caroline Polisi says Elizabeth's sudden act of assertiveness with Sonny doesn't necessarily square with the picture that a fence has painted up to this point and could backfire with the jury. I think the fact that she dropped him so quickly when she saw the writing on the wall that is not in keeping with this idea of this mental disease or defect because clearly she had the ability to perceive that she needed to drop him and make some changes and move on and she seemed to be able
to do that pretty quickly. What impact if Annie did your personal relationship with Mr. Bojone have on your work at Theronos? Down he asked. I don't know, said Elizabeth, taking a big pause appearing to hold back tears again. He impacted everything about who I was and I don't fully understand that. At the conclusion of this emotional testimony, Downie then dug into the core of the allegations
against Elizabeth. When Downie asked her point blank whether Sonny forced her to make the statements to investors, whether Sonny forced her to make certain statements to journalists or controlled her interactions with Walgreens and Safeway executives or the Theronos board, Elizabeth's answer each time was no. It was a surprising acknowledgement but Polisi says the line of questioning was a deliberate
move by the defense. That's a tried and true defense tactic. It's defense 101. You want to get a head of any bad facts. The worst thing that can happen in the defense's mind is for the prosecution to get an aha moment. The worst thing that could happen is for the prosecution to ask those questions and for Elizabeth to have her tail between her legs and have to answer truthfully. This is a tactic and technique that a defense attorney's use all the time. Let's get out a head
of this issue. Let's just admit to it on the stand and so that the jury can trust us and we're the ones acknowledging this and the prosecution won't be able to have that aha moment. While everything else seemed to pale by comparison to Elizabeth's jaw dropping accusations against Sonny, Downie did address a number of other key issues. He again hammered home on the idea that other people like Dr. Rosendorf and Sonny were supposed to be overseeing things and Elizabeth
deferred to their expertise. Downie brought up the Walgreens partnership. Elizabeth told the court her mission was to try to help patients who were scared of needles, including children, elderly and cancer patients. Downie showed the court emails from satisfied customers that Walgreens executive Dr. J. Rosen had forwarded to Elizabeth, including one patient who wrote a Theranos
blood test had picked up a medical issue that had previously gone undetected. Downie asked whether Elizabeth received reports that patients going to Theranos service centers and Walgreens were finding the test results more accurate than the test results provided by some other clinical blood testing services. I did, Elizabeth replied. Downie also asked Elizabeth about an agreement
Theranos entered into with Centcom. Elizabeth recounted how, thanks to an introduction from Board Member General James Mattis, Centcom was looking into possibly sending Theranos machines overseas to Afghanistan and on Medevac helicopters. But by the end of this exchange with Downie, Elizabeth admitted, the applications never came to be. Were Theranos devices used for clinical care on Medevacs? No, Centcom said Elizabeth. Did you tell anyone that? Downie asked,
I don't think I did, she said. Litigator J. Adelson says he believes these details will ultimately harm Elizabeth's case. To me, the piece of evidence that is the most compelling is the fact that Theranos was saying that their technology was being used in Afghanistan, in helicopters, transporting casualties. And you saw the defense very quickly when in their directs said, you know, by the way, that's not true, right? And she goes, yeah, that wasn't true.
You know, those are the things that really matter, which is she was making very specific statements, detailed statements. And you know, I think that's the downfall. The rest is close to a side show. That doesn't mean it might not be effective with a juror to, but legally, it really doesn't speak to the merits of the case in my mind. Downie also brought up Erica Chung, a Theranos whistleblower and witness for the prosecution who testified earlier in the trial. Chung said she raised concerns
with Sonny, and he angrily brushed her off. Do you recall ever having any communications with Miss Chung while she was working at Theranos down he asked? No, Settle Elizabeth. Do you recall ever hearing about any concerns that she had prior to the time that she left Theranos? No, Settle Elizabeth. And then Downie brought up Tyler Schultz, the grandson of former Theranos board member George Schultz, and one of the most well-known names associated with this story.
Tyler Schultz said in a deposition for a civil lawsuit against Theranos that he flagged issues in an email to Elizabeth. He said she was very much aware of what was going on. To your knowledge, did Miss Holmes know that Theranos could not do all those tests? Yeah, she knew. Elizabeth told the court that upon hearing Tyler's concerns, she asked Dr. Young, Theranos' number three and a scientist to look into Tyler's concerns seriously.
After meeting with Tyler, Dr. Young wrote an email to Elizabeth that Tyler was slow to understand Theranos' calculation methods. Young later followed up at another email and deemed the issue closed, framing the problem as Tyler's misunderstanding. Of course, we know Tyler didn't see the issue as being closed at all. He still thought the technology fell vastly short of what Elizabeth was telling the world. You know, I worked there and while I was working there, we only ran seven tests
on the Theranos devices. She also made it sound like the devices could simultaneously run multiple tests, but in reality, each device was calibrated to run one thing at a time. I think at the end of the day, everyone was concerned that we weren't giving patients the right results. But why would the defense bring up Tyler Schultz when the prosecution didn't even call him as a witness? This was in the same vein of you have to get out in front of bad facts. And I think
they wanted to contextualize Tyler Schultz's testimony. She talked about how Dr. Young met with Schultz multiple times and sort of explained to him things. It sort of made Schultz out to be, you know, somebody who didn't necessarily understand all of the science. That's what Dr. Young said, at least. Downey also addressed the negative press Theranos received, specifically citing a negative article that ran in October 2015. It was from the Wall Street Journal, but Downey didn't
mention that. How did Theranos respond to the knowledge that the article was going to run? He asked, we began interacting with the publisher over the course of several months, said Elizabeth. Elizabeth testified that she developed concerns about what was going to be reported. We understood that trade secrets that we had been trying to protect had been disclosed and could be disclosed through this piece. Would you characterize the steps that you took in response
as aggressive? Downey asked, yes, Elizabeth said, sitting here today, would you have handled the response to that differently? Ask Downey? Very much so, settle, Elizabeth. I think we were too aggressive. I think we were so focused on trying to protect these inventions and trade secrets that we lost sight of the big picture. And in trying to protect the trade secrets created all sorts of impressions about Theranos that were incorrect. Before concluding the questioning,
Downey wanted to know what Elizabeth gained financially as CEO of Theranos. What was her net worth on paper at the company's peak valuation? It would have been $4.5 billion, Elizabeth said. Did you have opportunities during the time that you were running Theranos to sell your stock in Theranos? Downey asked? I did. Elizabeth replied, did you ever sell a share of your stock in Theranos? I did not. I believed in the company and I wanted to put everything that I had into it,
she said. And what are those shares worth now, Downey asked Elizabeth? Her answer was emphatic. Nothing. It was a powerful finale to the defense's questions filled with explosive accusations and bombshells. But according to Jay Edelsen, some of the most memorable moments from Elizabeth's testimony do not fundamentally change the core issue. Even if the allegations about Sunny Belwani are true, do they excuse her from fraud? No, they don't excuse her from fraud legally or
morally. The fact that you're that you may have been in a bad relationship, certainly we cannot feel sympathy for that. But that's just not any sort of legal defense. And it's not a defense morally either. A lot of people have difficult lives. A lot of people have difficult relationships that doesn't mean that they commit fraud. Hey, this is Brad Milky. I host ABC's Daily News podcast Start Here. The dropout will be back in a minute. But first, today's podcast is brought
to you by SimplySafe. If you're constantly thinking about the safety of the people and things that you value most, check out SimplySafe. Sleep better every night knowing SimplySafe's 24-7 monitoring agents are standing by to protect you if someone tries to break in and to send emergency help when you need it most. SimplySafe is offering 20% off their system, just visit simplysafe.com-538.
With the exclusive live guard protection, SimplySafe agents can act within five seconds of receiving your alarm and can even see and speak to intruders inside your home, warning them the police are on their way. It's no surprise that SimplySafe has been named Best Home Security Systems by US News and World Report for five years running and the best customer service in home security by Newsweek. Protect your home this summer with 20% off any new SimplySafe system when you sign up for fast
protect monitoring. Just visit SimplySafe.com-538. That's SimplySafe-S-I-M-P-L-I-Safe.com-538-TheNumbers not The Letters. There's no safe like SimplySafe. When you're in Winters' favorite town, the snow-covered mountains surround you. A historic Main Street charms you. And every day brings a new adventure. Welcome to Park City, Utah. Naturally, Winters' favorite town. Join the experience at VisitParkcity.com This is Brad Milky from the ABC News Podcast. Start here. As hard as it is to imagine,
family doctors used to frequently make house calls. If you were sick, they would pack up their little black doctors bag and they would come to your home to examine you. Those days seem long gone, but one company is giving new meaning to the term house call, Tellodoc Health. You can choose a board certified doctor that's right for you and get primary care from the comfort of your own home. Connect via phone or online with a board certified doctor who will get to know you
and provide whole-person care. Advice, prescriptions, even mental health support and referrals. Tellodoc Health is not only convenient, it's affordable too, and it's covered by a surprising number of insurance plans. Download the app to get started today or go online to register or schedule a visit at Tellodoc Health.com. That's Tellodoc, T-E-L-A-D-O-C-Health.com. I want to invite you to start your day with us. Every morning on Start Here, we dive deep into
the biggest news stories with some of the best journalists in the world. It's smart, it's relevant, and maybe most importantly for you, it's quick. Again, that's Start Here, the daily podcast from ABC News, available wherever you listen. While Elizabeth Holmes seemed to be able to recall her life and vivid detail throughout the defense's questioning, her memories suddenly got more hazy, even non-existent during the prosecution's cross-examination. It was more like the Elizabeth
we saw in her 2017 SEC deposition when she said, I don't know, over 660 times. Prosecutor Robert Leach started by asking Elizabeth about her aggressive response to the pending negative Wall Street Journal article in 2015. You learned that John Kerryrew, a reporter with the Wall Street Journal, was working on some form of story in or about April of 2015.
Is that correct, Leachast? Yes, Elizabeth answered. And after learning this, you and Mr. Balwani took steps to control Mr. Kerryrew's experience at a wellness center in Arizona. Isn't that right? I don't think so, Settle Elizabeth. You were worried that Mr. Kerryrew might go to a wellness center and get a vein draw, weren't you? I don't remember that, Elizabeth responded. But Leach had evidence. He produced for the court text messages between Elizabeth and Sunny,
discussing the upcoming appointment. You wrote, WSJ guy might show up tomorrow. And that's a reference to Mr. Kerryrew, isn't it, Leachast? I think so, Settle Elizabeth. And Mr. Balwani responds, we need tomorrow to test. And then the team can push it in production tomorrow night. And you wrote, okay, could just do for him only if he shows up. And Mr. Balwani says, hard to know who he is and
what order he brings, better a perfect Vina puncture than bad finger stick. Does this refresh your recollection that you and Mr. Balwani were taking steps to control Mr. Kerryrew's experience at the wellness center? Asked Leach? No, Elizabeth said. Leach then brought up how he said Sunny and Elizabeth seemed to be mocking Kerryrew. Do you remember joking it all about his heritage, Leachast? I don't, Settle Elizabeth? You wrote, Kerryrew is French. And Sunny Balwani responded, very funny, explain
everything. He is proud of being French. And you wrote, I know, proud cynic. Elizabeth admitted she and Sunny were attempting to figure out who Kerryrew's sources were. They'd narrowed down the list to Tyler Schultz, Erica Chung and Dr. Adam Rosendorf according to their texts. But then Elizabeth became more evasive. You wanted to get ahead of the story, didn't you, Leachast? We wanted to make sure our trade secrets weren't disclosed. Elizabeth responded,
I understand your answer about trade secrets. I'd like an answer to my question, please. You wanted to get ahead of it, didn't you? Leach kept pressing? I'm sorry, I don't quite know what you mean by ahead of it. Settle Elizabeth. Leach proceeded to read a text message from Elizabeth to Sunny that said verbatim. Need to get ahead of all of it. Does that refresh your memory that you were trying to get ahead of all of it, Leachast? It doesn't. Elizabeth replied. Reading these words on
the page doesn't refresh your memory at all. Leachast? incredulous? I have a memory of this, but I don't know exactly what I meant by getting ahead of it. Elizabeth said, with a look of slight confusion we've seen before across her face. Litigator J. Adelson says it was a bad moment for the defense. This is Elizabeth Holmes' playbook. It did feel to me that she was just putting on an act. I found it to be not terribly credible that every time that she didn't remember something
that was harmful to her or she was supposedly confused. She kept defaulting to, oh, I don't remember, I don't remember. I think someone prolonging those moments. It kind of ingrains in the jury, the idea that first they remember that you're trying to avoid telling the truth. Then that fact kind of gets more set in. That did not come across well. Leach then turned his attention to the problems that Theranos Erichacchung had described in her testimony. Erichacchung was right when she
was raising issues. Wasn't she? Leachast? I don't think she was right about the specific issues that she was raising based on my understanding, but I sure as hell wish we had treated her differently and listened to her, Elizabeth said. You don't think the CMS report vindicates her in any way. Leach pressed? I think in a way it does, Elizabeth said. But Theranos chose not to
listen to her at the time, Leach said. My understanding Elizabeth replied is that we did listen to her, but the team believed the specific issues she had identified were not actually correctly identified. Leach continued to push. But you know today that Miss Chung was right, isn't that fair? Yes, Elizabeth replied. And instead of listening to Miss Chung, Theranos chose to retaliate against her. Isn't that correct? Leach said? No, Elizabeth said. Theranos didn't hire David Boyz's law firm
to track her down and serve her with legal process. We did hire David Boyz's law firm to serve her with the subpoena, Elizabeth said. Remember, David Boyz was Theranos' legal counsel, board member, and one of the most high-powered attorneys in the country. At 23 years old, Erica Chung, who was trying to do the right thing, received a threatening letter signed by Boyz. Dear Miss Chung, this firm rebelled. Erica read it to us in an interview a few years back.
We have reason to believe that you have disclosed certain of the company's trade secrets and other confidential information without authorization. You are directed to immediately cease and assist from these activities. Theranos will consider all appropriate remedies, including filing a suit against you. Erica described to us how terrified she was when she first received it. I can see why I was super paranoid and had a burner phone and was absolutely scared and terrified.
And at this point, I was 23, I think. Probably had like $5,000 in my bank account was thinking, how am I going to pay for a lawyer to defend myself against this? But Elizabeth testified she didn't see the episode like Erica had. You chose to threaten her, said Leach. No, said Elizabeth. Theranos chose to threaten her. I don't think so. Theranos chose to threaten her with a lawsuit. Is that fair? I'm not sure. Elizabeth responded. Leach showed the court the threatening letter and asked Elizabeth
if she knew it was happening at the time. Her response? I see that here. She kept repeating she knew her lawyers were following up with Erica. But it took Leach asking the question five times to hear Elizabeth admit she knew what letter was being sent. Were you also aware that Theranos paid two private investigation firms nearly $150,000 to aid in this effort to retaliate against Miss Chung? Leach asked? I'm not sure. Elizabeth said. Leach showed paperwork confirming the payment,
but that didn't refresh Elizabeth's memory either. How's the jury going to respond when she's being questioned by her own attorney? She has these vivid memories. But when the prosecutors ask her questions so much of the time when it's advantageous to Elizabeth, she can't remember. Yeah, that never looks good. If they're saying to themselves, she isn't an interesting, she has such a vivid recollection when her own attorney is asking her questions. But at the same time when
prosecutors asked her questions, she seems all of a sudden to forget things pretty easily. Well, that weighs on her credibility and her character for truthfulness. Leach also pressed Elizabeth on how she specifically treated Erica Chung. You tried to dismiss Erica Chung as a low-level disgruntled employee. Is that correct? We did. Elizabeth admitted. Is that another thing you wish you had done differently? Leach asked?
100%. I think I mishandled the entire process of the Wall Street Journal reporting, Settle-is-Beth. Leach then turned to Tyler Schultz, who also raised concerns directly to Elizabeth about issues with the technology. He went through Tyler's concerns, things you've heard throughout this trial. Many that would prove to be true. Leach also reminded the court how close Elizabeth was to the Schultz family, attending holiday parties, dinners, and confiding in his grandfather George
Schultz as a mentor. Remember, after Tyler sent Elizabeth an email with his concerns about Theronos, Sonny responded with an angry message and copied her on it. Leach read Sonny's reply out loud to the court. Tyler, let me share with you that had this email come from anyone else in the company, I would have already held them accountable for the arrogant and patronizing tone and reckless comments. Leach turned to Elizabeth and asked, you reviewed this and commented on it before it
went to Mr. Schultz. Isn't that correct? I'm not sure if it was this email specifically, Elizabeth said. Leach moved to help refresh her memory with another piece of evidence, an earlier iteration of the email that Elizabeth had reviewed. The original language read, arrogant and insulting attitude, but Elizabeth commented, stronger, emphasize what he did first, especially in light of my comment on accuracy below. Just as he'd done with Erica, Leach pressed Elizabeth to acknowledge
Tyler was right when he flagged problems at Theronos. He was raising concerns about vitamin D, isn't that right? And Theronos ultimately voided all of the vitamin D tests, isn't that correct? Leach said, we did, said Elizabeth, and Theronos chose not to listen to him at the time, correct? No, said Elizabeth, you chose not to listen to him at the time. No, instead you elected to retaliate against Mr. Schultz. Is that right? No, said Elizabeth, you didn't hire David Boyz's firm to threaten
a lawsuit against Mr. Schultz. Leach pressed on, we did hire David Boyz's firm and we did ask David Boyz's firm to follow up on the disclosure of trade secrets. Elizabeth conceded. Recall in season one, when Tyler was ambushed at his grandfather's house by lawyers from David Boyz's firm, it was a detail the jury was about to hear for the first time. Didn't George Schultz call you from his house and tell you that there were lawyers from Boyz Schiller trying to get
Tyler to sign documents in an intimidating way, asked Leach. That's not my memory of it, Elizabeth said. Again, Leach introduced an exhibit to refresh Elizabeth's memory. You know that George Schultz called you and said that the Boyz Schiller lawyers were acting in a totally unacceptable way. I know that I later felt that, Elizabeth said. He later stormed out of a board meeting because of that. Isn't that right, Leach asked? No, said Elizabeth,
he later complained to you about that. Isn't that right, Leach said? Yes, said Elizabeth. Didn't George Schultz tell you it was one of the worst little things he'd seen anybody try to do? No, you denied that he said that. I don't remember that, Elizabeth said. Elizabeth confirmed she also dismissed Tyler as a low level disgruntled employee. You know that your interactions with Tyler Schultz caused significant angst in the relationship
between Tyler and his grandfather. I do, she said. Is that another thing that you wish you would have done differently, Leach asked? Again, I couldn't say more strongly the way we handled the Wall Street Journal process was a disaster. We totally messed it up, said Elizabeth. The exchanges helped the prosecutors argument that Sonny may have been an enforcer, but Elizabeth was pulling the strings behind the scenes and directing Sonny's aggressive actions. Here's Jay Edole's sin again.
In some ways, I wonder if the defense overplayed their hand by making this huge emotional plea through Elizabeth's testimony, which then got shot down because she acted as the aggressor fairly consistently. In pervolution to the Sonny, as bizarre as it was, it did not feel like it was totally one sided. It seemed like they both used each other at different times. And she certainly had tremendous amount of power over him. Leach then turned to Elizabeth's claims her device could run
hundreds of tests. You were asked point blank by Jim Gramer on mad money, whether it was true that it was only 12 or 15 tests on your device. Isn't that right? I don't remember the question, but I remember he was asking me about the content of the Wall Street Journal article. Again, Leach helped refresh Elizabeth's memory. Well, let's play the clip, he said. How many tests can your device Edison do? The Wall Street Journal says it can only do 15 out of
240. Yeah, so we had communicated to the Wall Street Journal that we have submitted over 130 pre-submissions to FDA with tests running on our proprietary devices. And have been taking those through the FDA submission process, every test that we offer in our laboratory can run on our proprietary devices. We bring tests up on our proprietary devices based on the frequency with which they're run. So at any given point in time, we're running the tests that are most commonly ordered.
You heard Mr. Kramer ask you the question, how many tests could be performed on the Edison? I did. And I didn't hear the number 12 in that clip. Did you hear it? Leach asked. I did not say Elizabeth. Here's attorney Caroline Polisi. That really is a smoking gun. You can't substitute actual direct quotes hearing it from the horses mouth as it were. That is just gold for the prosecution because it is readily debunkable and it's manifestly false. It goes an extremely long way with the
jury. Again, a lot of these other things you can chalk it up to, well, maybe investors misunderstood or maybe there was sort of a gray area. I mean, there's nothing you can do to get around and outright bold-faced lie on national television. Then Leach turned to Elizabeth's power inside thereinose. You agree with me that anything that happens in your company is your responsibility at the end of the day. Isn't that right? That's how I felt, Settle Elizabeth.
Ultimately, all roads as the CEO lead to you. Yes. And is it fair that the book stops with you? I felt that, Settle Elizabeth? Leach then ticked off a list of government witnesses, lab directors, thereinose employees and marketing teams each hired by Elizabeth. If she was unhappy with any of them, she could have fired them at any time. Wasn't that right? Yes, Elizabeth confirmed. And as for Sunny, you could fire him at any time.
Leach asked? Yes, Settle Elizabeth. You had that power, Settle Leach. I did Settle Elizabeth. When you're in Winters' favorite town, the snow covered mountains surround you. A historic Main Street charms you. And every day brings a new adventure. Welcome to Park City, Utah. Naturally, Winters' favorite town. Join the experience at VisitParkcity.com. www.solitairegrandharvest.com slash moles. No purchase necessary. 18 plus. Crisis virtual. No cash value.
Imagine navigating the complexities of a true crime investigation. Building a business is no different. And forming an LLC is your first step to safety. Over 60% of Americans dream of starting their own business, but less than 20% take the plunge. The reason building a business is tough. Just like a detective needs the right tools to solve a case, entrepreneurs need the right resources to succeed. And one crucial step, forming an LLC to separate your personal and business assets,
keeping your business safe. Taylor Brands is here to help you navigate this challenge. From launching and managing to growing your business, Taylor Brands isn't just another tool. It's your online business partner from launch to success. With Taylor Brands, building your dream business becomes an effortless experience. Their comprehensive platform guides you through every step,
ensuring you have everything you need in one place. From LLC formation to bookkeeping, invoicing to acquiring licenses and permits, and even setting up your bank account, Taylor Brands handles it all seamlessly. And our listeners will receive 35% off Taylor Brands LLC formation plans using our link, Taylorbrands.com slash ABC. That's T-A-I-L-O-R-B-R-A-N-D-S. .com slash ABC. So start your business journey today with Taylor Brands.
Hi, I'm Cindy Crawford and I'm the founder of Meaningful Beauty. Well, I don't know about you, but like I never liked being told, oh wow, you look so good for your age. Like why even bothers saying that? Why don't you just say you look great at any age, every age? That's what Meaningful Beauty is all about. We create products that make you feel confident in your skin. At the age you are now. Meaningful Beauty. Beautiful skin at every age. Learn more at MeaningfulBeauty.com.
Prosecutor Leach then turned to Elizabeth's romantic relationship with Sonny. Is it fair to say that your relationship with Sonny was at times loving, and at times not so loving? He asked. Yes, she said. Leach informed the court that 12,000 messages between Sonny and Elizabeth had been entered into evidence. He told the jury the word love appeared 594 times. Leach asked Elizabeth to read some of them out loud. One sent by Sonny in May 2012 said,
Missing you, this business cannot be built by either you or I alone. That's why the universe brought us together. Among other billion reasons, no one but you and I can build this business. Leach then had Elizabeth read an exchange from October 2015. The same time Elizabeth was pushing back publicly against the Wall Street Journal claims. Before she began, Elizabeth paused, seemingly preparing herself. Sonny wrote, love you. I prayed from the bottom of my heart for you. I have never
prayed with this intensity in my life for anything and anyone. You will shine. Elizabeth wrote back, I love this. It is us together, perfection and divinity, my nirvana. Sonny responded, your God's Tigress and Warrior, your extraordinary. Coming from my tiger means the whole universe to me. I love you, Elizabeth replied. I worship you, be yourself, Sonny replied. All my and the infinite strength of the universe with you. I love you. I love you, Elizabeth wrote back.
As she read these messages aloud, Elizabeth repeatedly choked up. There were also exchanges citing HMFR, which Elizabeth explained was a prayer in Arabic, which means this too is my God's glory. Leach had Elizabeth read more loving messages between the pair. All my love and hugs for my queen, Sonny wrote. In another Elizabeth wrote, being your Mediba matters more than anything to me and what an amazing gift to meet a man I fall madly in love with. Is it fair to say that you and
Mr. Balwani had a spiritual connection? Ask Leach? I thought we did, Elizabeth said. You believe that at the time? Leach asked? I did. I think the spiritual connection was more believing that God had put him in my life at a time that it really mattered. Leach also showed photos of the palatial home Sonny and Elizabeth shared for several years in Atherton, California, located in one of the most
expensive zip codes in the country. In aerial photos of the estate, you can see a lavish pool in pool house, an enormous main residence, and a large second structure, manicured gardens, a basketball court, and a fountain. Elizabeth confirmed she and Sonny lived there from 2013 to 2016. They purchased the home for $9 million. Today, it's listed for sale for $16.5 million. But the court didn't hear these numbers. In a pretrial hearing, Judge Dovella ruled these
details were inadmissible. And it was a stark contrast to the living conditions Elizabeth described to the New Yorkers' canaleda in 2014. In that article, he wrote, her home is a two bedroom condo in Palo Alto, and she lives in austere life. After showing the photos, Leach then turned to how Elizabeth and Sonny's relationship ended. You ended the relationship with Mr. Balwani. I did. You made that choice. I did. Recall from Elizabeth's earlier testimony, she said she left Sonny and
fired him. When she said she realized he was not the person who he said he was, and there was no way she could save her company if he was there. That was different, Leach pointed out. The one Elizabeth had told the SEC in her 2017 deposition. Leach read a portion of it aloud in court. Once we started working together, it was a very intense working relationship and there
the sort of romantic piece that was there at the very beginning and died. I don't think it happened in one moment, but it was very clear that we were colleagues. Never in her deposition with the SEC, had Elizabeth mentioned the CMS audit as the reason her relationship with Sonny ended. You were asked a number of questions about the personal relationship, and you did not mention CMS. Is that fair, Leach asked? I don't think so. I haven't reread my
testimony, but I don't think so. Elizabeth responded. You're saying that you haven't reread your testimony and preparing for today. Leach pressed? I've looked at portions of it, but I have not read all of my testimony. Okay, but sitting here today, you don't have a memory of telling the SEC that CMS had something to do with the end of the relationship. I don't. Elizabeth said. Elizabeth did not, in fact, mention the CMS audit as a reason for the breakup when she spoke to the
SEC. Leach continued, when you broke off the relationship in 2016, you're not seeing any mental health professionals. Is that right? I was not. You weren't seeing a psychologist? No. You weren't seeing a psychiatrist? No. Whatever was keeping you and Mr. Bellwani together, you were able to make a break in 2016. I did. Leach went on to address Elizabeth's claim she was shocked by the CMS audit findings. He asked if Sonny ever concealed anything happening at the
company from her. I didn't think he did. Elizabeth said. Leach proceeded to show communications between the parent approve how often they spoke about the company, including what was going on inside of Theranos' lab and the relationship with Walgreens. In November 2014, Sonny texted, customer service seems to be terrible. Everyone complaining. Elizabeth replied, yes, we have to own this. In April 2015, Sonny texted Elizabeth. It is most maddening there is no focus in any chem teams
and no product coming out. Elizabeth replied, I know. Leach spent nearly two full hours pouring over these types of messages between Sonny and Elizabeth, confirming over and over again that Sonny wasn't hiding any facts about the business from Elizabeth. Then Leach turned to the 2015 CMS audit that Elizabeth claimed was a reason she ultimately broke up with Sonny. Elizabeth had testified earlier that she'd gone into the inspection thinking Theranos had one of the best labs in the world.
Leach read a chain of messages Sonny sent Elizabeth during the inspection. Very hostile so far. They have complaints. Elizabeth replied, praying, Sonny continued, our validation reports are terrible, really painful going through this process. Same issues FDA pointed out, going bad so far, pray. Elizabeth replied, praying, literally nonstop. Leach then pulled up more messages to demonstrate Elizabeth knew everything going on with Walgreens as well.
In July 2015, Sonny wrote, we need to commit to each other and get out of this hell so we can live in paradise. Elizabeth responded, I have literally been meditating on exact same. According to Jay Edelson, these messages, some of which we've heard before, packed in especially
powerful punch. I found those texts to be pretty enlightened. The fact that they were able to poke so many holes into this kind of bombshell testimony that she was being controlled by Bailwani, I think really hurt her credibility in such a significant way. Leach continued his questioning going over all the ways Sonny would defer to Elizabeth.
Leach also reminded the court, Elizabeth had many mentors, Don Lucas, Channing Robertson, Henry Kissinger, and George Schultz, who stared down the Soviet Union in the Cold War. Leach then pivoted and dropped his own bombshell into the conversation. Elizabeth had another love interest at the same time she was with Sonny. You were romantic with somebody other than Mr. Bailwani during the time period 2010 to 2015, asked Leach, yes, settle with, but added it wasn't a formal relationship.
You know, she painted herself as this huge victim and a fragile horrible for her, but then the prosecution puts out facts like that she had a separate romantic relationship during that time. And, you know, it's very hard to get in the mind of someone in a difficult relationship, but it just doesn't square up. Someone's controlling you and supposedly isn't even allowing you to
see your friends yet you have a separate romantic relationship. Yet when push comes to shove, you fire him with no repercussions at all. As the cross continued, Leach showed the jury past exhibits, including investor slides with problematic language that Leach pointed out months prior, Theranos lawyers had said needed to be changed. Leach pointed to a slide that made it look like Theranos had passed FDA approvals. When an actuality, the reference was to commercially available machines.
Something Elizabeth had left out of the presentation. You were holding this out to investors so that they could be comfortable with Theranos, and you never told the investors that this slide had zero to do with the Edison. Did you, Leach asked? We did not. Elizabeth said. Leach went on and countered the point that the board of
directors knew about the modified third-party machines. In the minutes showed to the court, you pointed to some language about trade secrets, but there's no reference in the minutes to modified commercial machines. Can we agree on that? Leach asked? I think that's right. I haven't reread them, but that would make sense, Elizabeth said. Okay. And you were here when General Mattis testified that he was unaware that the company was using third-party commercial machines
to do this testing. I was, said Elizabeth. Leach entered into evidence emails to Elizabeth from Theranos board members in the wake of the 2015 Wall Street Journal article. They wanted to know how many tests were actually being done on Theranos' own devices. Elizabeth had written back. During the time we are transitioning the nano-tainers operations, we are still able to use all of our proprietary technology, including our devices, which were approved for use this summer based on
the studies with approximately 900 patient samples. And that wasn't completely forthright. Is that right, Leach asked? I definitely wouldn't say it that way now, Elizabeth replied. So this is another thing that you wish you did differently, Leach asked? Yes, there are many things that I wish I did differently. Another thing Elizabeth said she wished she'd done differently was the now infamous Pfizer document, which Leach turned to next. Leach pointed out that it wasn't just that Elizabeth
had added to the document a Pfizer logo up top. It was also what she had removed from it. She had deleted the words, prepared for Dr. Aiden Power, a Pfizer executive. Do you agree with me that explicitly stating that this was prepared for Dr. Aiden Power might make it easier for a reader to determine that this was prepared by Theranos, Leach asked? It could, Elizabeth replied, is deleting those words another thing you wish you had done differently? I do. I wish I had handled
this differently. Yes, next, Leach turned to the Shearing Plow logo. You don't have a memory of someone from Shearing Plow authorizing you to do that. I don't. And you never told Walgreens you put the Shearing Plow logo on this. I don't think so, said Elizabeth. And like with Pfizer, it wasn't just the logo Elizabeth altered. Just to be 100% clear, there are some words in this document beneath the logo. It says Shearing Plow Corporation, Shearing Plow Research, and then there's some additional
language. Did you write that? Ask Leach? I think so, said Elizabeth. Leach displayed side-by-side, the document Theranos gave to Walgreens with the Shearing Plow logo up top and the original document Theranos prepared for Shearing Plow. In the Walgreens version, there was also a reference to Theranos Gold Standard reference methods. Leach showed the jury this language was conspicuously left out of the original version. Did you add those words, Leach asked? I think so. Okay, and you didn't
testify to that in your direct examination. Is that correct? I don't think so, said Elizabeth. Then Leach hit Elizabeth with another zinger, a new altered document. This one had the Blacksauce Smith Klein logo on it and was given to Walgreens as well. Did you add that logo? I assume so, Elizabeth said. Did you receive any permission from GSK to add the logo? I don't know. And again, it wasn't just the logo that was added. There were also dates missing that would have
potentially indicated to a reader. The study was confined to a short time frame. Did you delete those words? Asked Leach? I don't know, Elizabeth said. Is the reason that those words are deleted because it might suggest the limits of GSK's evaluation? I don't think so, said Elizabeth. And did you ever tell anyone at Theranos? We can't have the slightest negative comment in what's going out to our partners. Asked Leach? I don't think so,
said Elizabeth. Leach pulled out the contracts between Theranos and each of the three pharma companies, all contained language that prohibited either party from using each other's logos without consent. Elizabeth claimed she didn't review the contracts prior to adding the logos. Lidigator Jay Adelson says this part of the cross examination was particularly strong for the prosecution. I think where the prosecution really found their footing was getting into the specifics
of all the lies, slapping on the logo for Walgreens, for example. And manipulating those documents and investors were looking at, you know, she had no answer to that at all. And that to me is, that was an intentional act that were meant to mislead investors and did mislead investors. Leach began to close the cross examination, doubling down on the prosecution's point from the opening statement. Out of time and out of money, Elizabeth Holmes decided to lie.
Leach showed the jury's spreadsheets of Theranos' finances prior to the Walgreens launch. In the summer of 2013, Theranos had to return over $18 million to Blue Cross Blue Shield for not meeting the obligations of the contract. That put pressure on the company. Isn't that right? He asked. Yes, Elizabeth said. It was weeks before the Walgreens launch and Theranos was burning
through millions of dollars a month. They were about to run out of money. So Elizabeth scrambled to put together a new investment round in September 2013 and was able to raise $21 million. You and Mr. Balwani were extremely relieved when this money came in. Isn't that right, Leach? I'm sure we were happy when it came in. Elizabeth said. After the money was confirmed,
Sonny texted Elizabeth their shared prayer. HMFR. While Elizabeth had testified previously that her company didn't need money at the time, Leach continued to show that, in fact, they did, which led Theranos to raise a new round of investments in December 2013. The majority of investors who participated in that round were those allegedly defrauded in this case. After nearly six hours of questions, Leach concluded for the day.
Elizabeth left the stand and Judge Davila reminded the jury not to investigate or discuss the case. Attorney Caroline Polisi thinks the defense got in some major wins this week. I personally was surprised at how far I did think her testimony went in terms of bolstering the defense case. Sure, they lost a few battles, but maybe they're going to win the war. It's great to
humanize your client. And I think that's exactly what she did. But with the clock ticking and the cross-examination still going, Jay Edelsson says the defense still has their work cut out. Well, I think that defense has to pull a rabbit out of the hat here. They're very good lawyers and they've had a lot of time to think about it. And we're getting close to hell and airy time. So I would expect that there'll be some more curveballs.
Legally, I don't know how significant it's going to be, but you know, cases are often won our last 100 emotional level. And so they kind of play whatever cards they have. They probably have like two left in the deck. Tune in next Tuesday. Elizabeth Holmes and Sunnybell Wani did not respond or declined to comment for this podcast. Some material, including port depositions, were edited for clarity and time. The dropout Elizabeth Holmes on trial is written and reported by Victoria Thompson,
Taylor Dunne, and me. Victoria is the executive producer, Taylor and I are producers. For ABC audio, Susie Lewis producer and Madeline Wood and Marwell Milwaukee are associate producers. Dia Ethan and Miles Cohen are court producers. For ABC's business unit, our associate producer is Victor Ordonia's and our production assistant is Lane Wynn. Mixing and scoring is by Susie Lou and Evan Viola. Evan also composed the music for the dropout. Our artwork is by Teddy Blanks at
Chipson Y and Sedric Hanstad. For ABC audio, Liz Alessie is executive producer. Special thanks to Josh Cohen, Elizabeth Russo, Ian Rosenberg, Eric Abram, and Stacia DeShichko.