Holmes accused of ‘cynical ruse’
Reporter claims founder is trying to exclude him from trial
A national news reporter responsible for a series of exposés of Theranos is accusing Elizabeth Holmes of trying to bar him from her trial in a ploy to stop his reporting, according to a motion filed in court Friday.
Former Wall Street Journal reporter John Carreyrou wrote dozens of articles about Theranos starting in October 2015, spurring federal investigations that ultimately led to Holmes standing trial in U.S. District Court in San Jose on a dozen felony fraud charges. Carreyrou now puts out a podcast called “Bad Blood,” the same name as his best-selling book on Holmes’ failed Palo Alto blood-testing startup.
Carreyrou is the only journalist named on Holmes’ witness list — which contains several redacted names — according to Carreyrou’s motion. So without the judge’s permission, Carreyrou may not be able to attend court for witness testimony, or publicly discuss any testimony he may give, including on his podcast, his Friday motion said. However, Carreyrou suggested that because defense lawyers have not subpoenaed him as a witness, he was put on the witness list because of Holmes’ “animus” and a wish to exclude him from the proceedings.
“Placing Carreyrou on the witness list was done in bad faith and was designed to harass him,” the motion claimed, calling his placement on the list “a cynical ruse” that violates the First Amendment.
Lawyers for Holmes did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
As evidence of Holmes’ rancor toward Carreyrou, his motion cited a “(Expletive) you, Carreyrou” chant led by Holmes in a company meeting. Holmes legal team has called the chant “nothing remarkable” and won a pre-trial battle to prevent jurors from hearing about it.
Holmes, a Stanford University dropout who founded the now-defunct startup in 2003 and led it as CEO until shortly before it collapsed in 2018, is charged with a dozen counts of felony fraud. The federal government alleges she and former company president Sunny Balwani
bilked investors out of hundreds of millions of dollars, and misled patients and doctors, with false claims that the company's machines could conduct a full array of tests using just a few drops of blood. Holmes and Balwani have denied the claims.
Carreyrou's motion also cites text messages introduced in the case between Holmes and Balwani in which the two discuss undermining Carreyrou's reporting. “Holmes later made statements to her board of directors attacking Carreyrou, stating that he was on a ‘jihad,'” the motion claimed.
Holmes, if convicted, faces maximum penalties of 20 years in prison and a $2.75 million fine, plus possible restitution, the Department of Justice has said. Her trial is expected to run for about three months.