Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes (center) arrives at federal court in San Jose, California on Aug. 31, 2021.[Photo by David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images]
Former Theranos lab director Adam Rosendorff took the stand for a second day at the Elizabeth Holmes federal fraud trial to face cross-examination from the defense.
The lab director testified that he felt pressured by management to defend lab tests despite the inaccuracies, multiple media sources report. For example, in several email exchanges with Holmes’ brother Christian Holmes, Rosendorff was asked to come up with “constructive” ways of dealing with a doctor who was questioning the results of a cholesterol test performed by one of Theranos’ machines.
Rosendorff said that he told Christian Holmes that, “if you are asking me to defend these values, then the answer is no,” NBC Bay Area reports. Rosendorff also said in the email exchange that he thought the most “constructive” thing for the company to do regarding the inaccurate tests was to offer “reliable and robust” tests and to not “spin” the situation. He also stressed the importance of being honest and transparent with Theranos patients. Christian Holmes forwarded that email exchange to his sister and said that he was “at a loss” on dealing with Rosendorff.