00:00She was the world's youngest self-made female billionaire who was never at a loss for words.
00:05But as you'll see, in this nearly four-hour deposition obtained by CNBC,
00:11it was a much different Elizabeth Holmes who hardly said anything.
00:15Yes.
00:15The date, June 27, 2018.
00:18Just 12 days after Holmes, the founder and CEO of Theranos,
00:23and company president Sonny Balwani were indicted on charges of fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
00:30Both have pleaded not guilty.
00:32No.
00:33Listen as Holmes repeatedly takes the fifth on advice of counsel while being deposed by an attorney
00:38representing late-stage Theranos investors who sued her, the company, and Balwani.
00:44Are you going to follow his instruction not to answer?
00:46Yes.
00:47I'm going to follow my counsel's instruction.
00:48I'm going to follow my counsel's instructions.
00:50I'm following his instruction.
00:51Same instruction.
00:53Same response.
00:55Holmes won't even acknowledge that it's her when shown an appearance on CNBC's Mad Money.
01:00Do you recognize you on that video?
01:02Same instruction.
01:04That investor lawsuit ended with a confidential settlement.
01:08If Holmes does take the stand in her own defense, she won't be allowed to take the fifth.
01:13And she'll likely face a barrage of questions from prosecutors about what she told investors and patients.
01:19Questions she answered in detail in this SEC deposition from 2017.
01:24Did you ever tell investors or potential investors in 2013 or 2014 that Theranos had developed proprietary devices that could conduct all of the blood tests that a central lab could conduct using a few drops of blood and that those devices were ready for patient testing?
01:39I don't know.
01:41I don't know that we said it in those words, but generally that was what we were working to do with many labs going into the FDA in that time frame.
01:50Holmes' defense has signaled it's Balwani, her ex-boyfriend, who's to blame, which he strongly denies.
01:56But in 2017, Holmes is seen acknowledging that at the end of the day, she was the one in charge.
02:03But were you the decision maker on behalf of Theranos and did you sign the Walgreens contract or the amendment?
02:09I did. I signed many of the Walgreens agreements.
02:13I don't know if I signed all of them.
02:15And yes, I mean, I'm the CEO.
02:17I'm the ultimate decision maker for the company.
02:22Attorneys for Holmes did not respond to CNBC's request for comment on these tapes or whether she'll take the stand.
02:29We all know the expression silence is golden, but it could be the opposite depending on who you're talking to in this case.
02:35Elizabeth Holmes has not spoken in court yet.
02:37She wears a mask that could play in her favor with the jury.
02:42They have not been able to see any sort of emotion from her, so they might see her as a sympathetic character that's just sitting there.
02:48Now, legal experts tell me that it's very risky to put Elizabeth Holmes on the stand, but her lawyers might do it if they feel like they're losing the case.
02:56Now, Julia, that would open her up to the government using her own words against her.
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