Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes’ fraud case: Mattis, Kissinger, Murdoch are possible witnesses

Witnesses can testify on former romance between Holmes and firm president

A host of high-profile figures including former U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis and former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger could be called to testify in the criminal fraud trial of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, a newly released court filing says.

The two men’s service on the board of the failed Palo Alto blood-testing startup put them among possible witnesses named in a letter from federal prosecutors to Holmes’ legal team, which was filed as an exhibit in court this week. Another former Defense Secretary, William Perry, is also on the list, as are former U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz, former U.S. Senators Sam Nunn and William Frist, as well as Robert Shapiro, a lawyer on the team that successfully defended O.J. Simpson against murder charges.

Another prominent lawyer who was also on the board, David Boies, could also be called as a witness, according to the letter, dated April 3 and filed Tuesday. As witnesses, the ex-members of the board would be called to address “False and misleading representations made to Theranos’s Board of Directors,” according to the letter.

Media magnate Rupert Murdoch, owner of the Wall Street Journal, where reporter John Carreyrou’s reporting set off the Theranos scandal, could also be called to testify. His name is listed under the category of people who could discuss alleged “threatening, influencing, or vilifying” of journalists in response to negative Theranos coverage.

The letter also contains a category of people who would testify about “Concealing the romantic relationship between Holmes and Balwani from investors and others.” To discuss the former relationship, prosecutors may call Mattis, Kissinger, Perry, Shultz, Frist and others, the letter said.

Stanford University dropout Holmes, charged with a dozen felony fraud counts, is in U.S. District Court proceedings in San Jose, with her trial set to start this fall, pandemic permitting. Prosecutors allege she and her co-accused, former Theranos president Sunny Balwani, knew their blood-testing machines had accuracy problems, despite promises they could conduct a full range of tests using a few drops of blood. The government claims the pair misled investors and business partners, and defrauded doctors and “many hundreds” of patients. Holmes and Balwani have denied the allegations, with lawyers for Holmes arguing in a December court filing that the government’s case was “unconstitutionally vague” and lacked specific claims of misrepresentation.

Further claims of vagueness were made by her legal team in response to the April 3 letter, which also listed many documents produced through the evidence-discovery process that prosecutors said they may use as exhibits in the trial. The letter “did not identify the particular acts Ms. Holmes supposedly committed and continued to rely on vague themes,” her lawyers said in a court filing Tuesday.

“It did not disclose what evidence the government would introduce outside its case in chief. And it did not provide any explanation of which particular acts the hundreds of witness statements and the thousands of pages of discovery it identified would support.”

https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/07/02/theranos-founder-elizabeth-holmes-fraud-case-mattis-kissinger-murdoch-are-possible-witnesses/

Singing in houses of worship banned under new order from Newsom as pandemic worsens

Californians are still free to attend their house of worship. But they’re forbidden from singing or chanting.

Updated COVID-19 guidelines issued Wednesday by the state Department of Public Health require churches and other houses of worship to “discontinue singing and chanting activities.”

In previously allowing religious organizations to reopen in late May, the state merely said these institutions should “strongly consider discontinuing singing, group recitation, and other practices and performances.”

Health agencies such as the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say shouting or singing can spread the coronavirus just as easily as coughing or sneezing.

California’s health department agrees, and as Gov. Gavin Newsom begins tightening protocols during a resurgence of the pandemic, it now says singing and chanting are outright banned.

“Activities such as singing and chanting negate the risk reduction achieved through six feet of physical distancing,” the state said in its new guidelines.

Houses of worship are now being told to have masks available for congregants who don’t bring one.

The new guidelines were released the same day Newsom issued his most dramatic reversal yet on reopening the economy, calling on Sacramento and 18 other counties to halt indoor restaurant dining and close movie theaters, card rooms, indoor museums and other venues. Sacramento County’s closures took effect Thursday at 3 p.m.

Unlike the restaurant closures, Newsom said little about the new guidelines on houses of worship, mentioning them only in passing during a press conference Thursday.

It remains to be seen if, or how, the state or counties are expected to enforce the ban on singing in houses of worship. Churches were among the most aggressive institutions in pushing back on Newsom’s original stay-at-home order in mid-March. Several sued the governor to overturn the order, saying it violated their First Amendment rights, although none were successful in court.

One of the Sacramento area’s largest churches, Capital Christian Center, said it hasn’t reviewed the latest guidelines but will follow the new protocols.

“We recognize that singing is a challenge,” said Jason Batt, the church’s chief operating officer.

Batt said Capital Christian has put its choir activities on hold for the time being anyway and has limited singing to a few leaders of the services on stage.

Capital Christian, which can seat up to 4,000 congregants, has limited attendance to just 100 people - the maximum allowed by the state for indoor services. It’s continuing to encourage congregants to watch services online instead of showing up in person.

https://www.sacbee.com/news/coronavirus/article243973397.html

Please CA Anons - https://recallgavin2020.com/

Interesting that this article about WuFlu is listed under Politics…

A day after California reimposed parts of its stay-at-home order for much of the state, Gov. Gavin Newsom gently implored protesters and mask scofflaws to consider the consequences of ignoring health orders.

“All I can offer is this consideration: Do what you think is best, not only for you, but for the health of those you love,” Newsom said Thursday at a news conference in Sacramento. “Just because someone else is doing it, doesn’t mean you should.”

Asked repeatedly whether there was a disconnect between discouraging family gatherings but saying nothing about protests, such as those that have taken place since the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody, Newsom ventured mild criticism of street activism during the pandemic.

The governor said that while orders to wear masks in crowded places or maintain safe physical distance aren’t widely enforced, protesters should think about those who may die from exposure to the virus.

He ticked off a string of statistics to show how the coronavirus has roared back in California in recent weeks: Hospitalizations have increased 56% in two weeks, admissions to the intensive care unit are up 49% and the rate of positive tests has climbed to more than 6%.

“Look, we’re not going to everybody’s backyard and enforcing. You know that,” Newsom said. “Consider others. That could be your mother, it could be your grandmother, it could be someone you deeply love.”

Newsom didn’t unveil any new restrictions on public life Thursday, but he said the state is doubling down on parts of its stay-at-home order that were reimposed in 19 counties on Wednesday.

To coax more businesses to comply, Newsom said the state is deploying teams of health regulators across the state. He said they will focus on “people who have turned their back or been particularly more problematic in the past.”

On Wednesday, Newsom ordered 19 counties with surging outbreaks to reimpose parts of their stay-at-home orders for at least three weeks, to prevent the pandemic from spiraling out of control.

Counties on the state’s watch list were directed to close a host of indoor establishments: dine-in restaurants, wineries, tasting rooms, movie theaters, bowling alleys, arcades, zoos, museums and cardrooms. Bars must halt all indoor and outdoor operations.

Two Bay Area counties — Santa Clara and Solano — are among the 19 on the list. Newsom said more counties in the region could be added if new infections continue to soar.

Contra Costa County had been on the list, but was removed Thursday. Meanwhile, Monterey County was added.

Besides the Bay Area counties, those on the list are Los Angeles, Orange, Sacramento, Stanislaus, Fresno, Glenn, Imperial, Kern, Kings, Merced, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Joaquin, Santa Barbara, Tulare and Ventura.

Newsom said the message to adhere to health orders is particularly important as Californians head into the Fourth of July weekend, one of the busiest times for travel and family gatherings.

He said people should celebrate the holiday differently this year, noting that many cities and counties have extinguished fireworks displays and canceled parades. Newsom said those who want to see fireworks should “stay in your cars or stay at home and just enjoy them from afar.”

Newsom also announced Thursday that the state is launching a major public-awareness campaign, with TV ads and more than 400 billboards, to emphasize the need to wear masks.

“Don’t think for a second we are out of the woods,” he said. “We can again bend this curve.”

https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/Newsom-appeals-to-California-protesters-Consider-15383308.php

Counties to remain in current phases; Inslee to sign ‘No Mask, No Service’ mandate

Gov. Inslee said on Thursday he will sign a statewide mandate by Tuesday that prohibits businesses from serving customers without masks.

This is already a mandate in Yakima County, which is reporting more than 7,000 cases of coronavirus. The new mandate expands on a previous statewide mask or face coverings initiative that Inslee announced on June 10.

The governor said the new mandate is a result of increasing cases of COVID-19 across Washington state. The infections per day peaked in April, decreased in April and May, started increasing again in June, and now is back up to the peak.

He recognized that Washingtonians took painful steps early to knock the virus down, but to take further steps we have to drive down the rate of infection, and that involves wearing more masks.

“It’s just a piece of cloth, and it’s available to all of us,” Inslee said of masks. “It is a symbol that we care about the community, we care about our loved ones.”

The state has delivered, or will deliver, 3.6 million masks to low income people to make sure they are available in cities and counties, Inslee reported, and many nonprofits in the state are doing the same.

“This is not an optional plan for businesses,” the governor said about the new mandate. “This is a legal requirement. This is not merely a suggestion. If you go to a business and you’re not complying with this, the business cannot legally serve you.”

Inslee also announced that bar and counter service will no longer be permitted in Phase 3. Bars and restaurants can remain open and provide service, but not at bar tops.

“We need to sit down and be served,” Inlsee said. “We can’t have people mingling shoulder to shoulder.”

Secretary of Health John Wiesman said the state is also pausing all movement into the next phase for at least two weeks. This means if your county is in Phase 2 — King, Kitsap, Pierce, Skagit, and Snohomish, for example — it’ll remain in Phase 2 until at least mid-July.

There are now three counties in Phase 1, two counties in a modified version of Phase 1, 17 in Phase 2, and 17 in Phase 3, according to the state.

Wiesman says it’s safest to stay home, stay local, keep your circle of friends and contacts small, practice good hygiene, and wear a cloth face covering.

“This is not the time for extended family, friends, or neighborhood parties, retirements, or fourth of July barbeques,” he said.

https://mynorthwest.com/1996028/inslee-statewide-no-masks-no-service/