Former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes Again Has Hard Time Remembering Things on Witness Stand

Former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes again had a difficult time remembering things on the witness stand Tuesday.

Holmes, 37, spent the second day of cross-examinations being questioned by government lawyer Robert Leach. Like the previous week, Leach pulled up Holmes' emails ranging from six to nine years ago, attempting to aid Holmes in jogging her memory but to also show the jury that Holmes knew the issues regarding Theranos' blood-testing equipment.

Holmes told Leach she even had no memory of emailing Theranos investors a Fortune magazine cover story about her in June 2014 that thrust her into stardom in Silicon Valley, or presenting a slideshow in July 2013 to Walgreens executives that aided the company in completing its pharmacy deal that would have allowed for the Theranos technology to be sold in their stores.

Holmes maintained that she thought Theranos was close to perfecting a blood-testing technology, which was supposed to be able to scan hundreds of possible health problems with a few drops of blood. She said the technology was a major step forward, which originally helped Theranos raise $900 million from investors and helped land the Walgreens pharmacy deal.

Theranos had become popular by 2014, so much so that Holmes' stake in the company was valued at $4.5 billion.

"When I testified we could do it, I fully believe we could do it," Holmes said Tuesday.

When questioned by Leach, Holmes then said, "There was still work to be done."

Tuesday was Holmes' sixth day on the witness stand. Holmes previously testified that Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani, Holmes' former lover and business partner, put her through years of sexual and emotional abuse that affected some of the decisions she made while she was CEO of the company.

Balwani, 56, was also Theranos' chief operating officer from 2009 to 2016 -- a period during which he was also secretly living with Holmes. The couple broke up in 2016 after a series of explosive articles in The Wall Street Journal and a regulatory audit uncovered a pattern of grossly inaccurate blood results being produced on Theranos technology.

Jeffrey Coopersmith, Balwani's attorney, has vehemently denied Holmes' abuse allegations in court documents. Balwani faces a separate fraud trial early next year.

Holmes' trial is nearing its end now, with the jury expected to begin deliberations within the next two weeks. If convicted, Holmes could face up to 20 years in prison.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.