Former US defense secretary testifies in Holmes fraud trial

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE
AP Technology Writer

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Former U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis testified Wednesday in the trial of fallen tech star Elizabeth Holmes, saying the entrepreneur misled him into believing she was on the verge of rolling out a blood-testing breakthrough that he hoped would help save lives of troops in battle. Mattis’ appearance came during the sixth day of a high-profile trial in San Jose, California, in which prosecutors charge that Holmes duped investors, patients and customers about the progress her startup, Theranos, had made toward a machine hat could scan for a variety of health problems with just a few drops of blood. During his testimony, Mattis described how Holmes first dazzled then disappointed him.