Elizabeth Holmes Fraud Trial: Defense Attorney Lashes Out at Key Witness After Allegedly Breaking No-Contact Order
The alleged violation of court rules prompted a defense attorney for Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes to lash out at a key government witness, claiming that the 24th witness in the case contacted prosecutors regarding his testimony.
Elizabeth Holmes' Attorney Lashes Out at 24th Witness
The Theranos CEO, Holmes, is currently facing a dozen charges: two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and ten counts of wire fraud.
According to CNBC, a member of Holmes' defense team, attorney Kevin Downey, revealed during a contentious cross-examination on Monday that the former Theranos investor from Texas, Alan Eisenman, contacted authorities despite being warned. Downey claimed that the former investor sent an email to the prosecution team after he finished his direct examination, despite being told not to discuss any information related to the trial with anyone.
Eisenman denied Downey's claims. He repeatedly said that he had discussed the substance of his testimony.
However, the defense attorney was persistent and continued throwing questions at the key witness in the case.
Downey asked the witness how long it took for him to violate the direction given by authorities, but Eisenman said that he could not recall and said that he was pretty tired.
Defense Attorney Reveals Communications Made by Key Witness to Prosecution Team
Based on the statement of Downey, following the email of Eisenman, Adelaida Hernandez, an FBI special agent for the government, called the witness and instructed him to "not communicate with the government."
However, on Friday, the key witness once again emailed the prosecution team, and this time it was the assistant U.S. attorney, John Bostic, who called Eisenman.
Moreover, Downey emphasized to the key witness that he was warned not to communicate with the authorities after he finished his direct examination. The lawyer said it was already the third time that the government had told him not to communicate with them about the testimony which was going on inside Judge Davila's courtroom.
The key witness clarified that his communication in his last email to the prosecutors was substantive or relevant to his testimony. He even shared that it was about some travel arrangements.
Furthermore, in another effort to cast the witness as being biased, Downey pointed to an email Eisenman wrote in December 2018 to FBI special agent Hernandez. The defense attorney revealed that the email started "Hi Addy." and Eisenman ended the email by writing: "You know that I am a faithful part of your team, and will do all that I can to help your case."
Downey asked Eisenman if the email was an accurate statement about his relationship with the prosecutors. The latter replied that for him, there was business fraud, and he was a victim because he was lied to and taken advantage of. The key witness added that there was a lot of abuse through the years. He added he would do what he could to tell his story so that justice would be served.
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Written by: Jess Smith
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