Elizabeth Holmes, the disgraced founder of the fraudulent blood-testing company Theranos, is reportedly attempting to secure a presidential pardon from Donald Trump through a calculated social media campaign, according to crisis management experts.
From Clinton Fundraiser to MAGA Supporter
Holmes, who was convicted in 2022 on four counts of felony fraud, has recently made a dramatic political shift. In August, after years of inactivity, her X profile began publishing dozens of posts supporting Trump and his 'Make America Healthy Again' (MAHA) movement.
This new stance marks a stark contrast to her previous political affiliations. In 2016, during the height of her legal troubles, Holmes hosted a high-profile fundraiser for Hillary Clinton at Theranos's headquarters in Palo Alto. Her earlier social media activity, dating back to 2015, featured praise for influential women like Rosa Parks and Marie Curie, with no mention of Trump.
This year, however, her posts have taken a definitive turn. She shared a Politico article about MAHA 'embracing' her, commenting, 'I have been working to Make America Healthy Again since 2004.' In other engagements, she echoed pro-Trump sentiments, including a post about Trump and Elon Musk reconciling, where she wrote, 'Time to come together.'
A 'Hail Mary' for Early Release
Analysts view this sudden online activity as a desperate bid for freedom. Holmes lost an appeal earlier this year, severely limiting her options. She is currently serving her sentence at the Federal Prison Camp in Bryan, Texas, a minimum-security facility.
Her projected release date is not until December 2031. With a final appeal to the Supreme Court considered highly unlikely by legal experts, a presidential pardon appears to be her only viable path to an early release.
Bay Area public relations consultant Sam Singer, who reviewed Holmes's tweets, stated: 'Elizabeth Holmes is openly seeking a pardon from President Trump, hoping that by a combination of sucking up and perhaps digital fawning that she will get it.' He added that the strategy, while interesting, reinforces the public perception of her as a 'con woman.'
A History of Fraud and a Pattern of Pardons
The potential strategy is not without precedent. Holmes was found guilty of defrauding investors of more than $140 million in a criminal case, while civil charges from the Securities and Exchange Commission alleged she deceived investors out of a staggering $700 million.
Her company, Theranos, claimed its technology could perform hundreds of sophisticated blood tests from just a single finger-prick drop of blood—claims that were later revealed to be false.
Graham Dodds, a political science professor at Concordia University, noted that Trump has a history of pardoning figures similar to Holmes. 'He's happy to pardon people who are politically simpatico,' Dodds said, pointing out that of the 69 pardons Trump issued in his second term, 19 went to people convicted of fraud.
Throughout her trial and imprisonment, Holmes has remained defiant. In a recent tweet, she asserted, 'Maybe my unwillingness to pretend is the clearest evidence of my innocence... If I was that person, I would fake an apology, I would admit fault for the hundred things I have been accused of.'
This lack of remorse is particularly painful for victims of the Theranos scandal, including Rochelle Gibbons, the widow of the company's chief scientist, Ian Gibbons. He took his own life in 2013, which Rochelle blames on the immense pressure and deception within Theranos. After Holmes's sentencing, she said, 'Satisfaction in knowing she's going to suffer because, believe me, I've suffered and Ian suffered. She has shown no remorse for any of the things she's done to anyone, nothing.'
