Shultz played key role in Theranos’ rise and fall

If only Trump would do as Peru’s president did

In three weeks, President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski was set to host President Trump in Peru. On Wednesday, amid allegations of compromised integrity and facing imminent impeachment, Kuczynski offered his resignation.

If only we could be so lucky. — Barry Bronson,

Saratoga

The recent stories on the fall of Theranos (“SEC fines Theranos founder Holmes for ‘massive fraud’,” Page A1, March 15) overlook the key factor in its rise and fall other than Elizabeth Holmes: George Shultz.

Only after Shultz got involved did Theranos raise its hundreds of millions. Unlike other directors, Shultz actively promoted Theranos in major forums. See, for example, the Youtube video of Shultz and Holmes at the 2015 SIEPR Conference at Stanford. See also Shultz telling The New Yorker in 2014 that he met each week with Holmes. His praise was lavish. But this blind ardor was the prelude to his refusal to heed his grandson’s warnings.

People like Shultz don’t apologize for anything. So the only public accounting for his actions must come through lawsuits of angry investors. His 2017 deposition in one case shows that he never inquired about reported laboratory deceptions of Theranos.

Between Theranos and his support for the Iraq war, he’s having a rough 21st century. — Peter C. Haley,

Portola Valley