Holmes, U.S. Clash Again Over Missing Theranos Patient Database

(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Justice Department had a message Wednesday for ex-Theranos Inc. Chief Executive Officer Elizabeth Holmes: Be careful what you wish for.

The founder of the failed blood-testing startup has resurrected her attempt to block prosecutors from presenting customer complaints, inaccurate test results and problemmatic regulatory findings to jurors at her upcoming criminal fraud trial.

Lawyers for Holmes say the government dropped the ball by allowing the company's Laboratory Information System, or LIS, to go irretrievably dark. Without the patient data it contains, they argue, Holmes can't fairly defend herself against the evidence prosecutors intend to marshal at trial.

“Ms. Holmes has lost the opportunity to refute adequately the government's assertions with respect to customer complaints and testing results” and regulatory reports, her lawyers said in a court filing. “Evidence of the potentially millions of accurate testing results that resided on the LIS is therefore central to the case and is now missing.”

Read More: Holmes, Prosecutors Trade Blame for Crippled Theranos Database

Wednesday wasn't the first time Holmes has pointed to the crippled LIS to try to exclude potentially damaging evidence from her trial scheduled to start at the end of August. In response, prosecutors have revealed more information about what they think happened to the database, and laid the blame more squarely on Holmes herself.

Holmes hasn't been hurt by the loss of the LIS, and to the contrary she “likely benefited from it,” prosecutors said in a court filing. “In fact, the available information strongly suggests that, were the LIS still in existence, its contents would dramatically bolster the government's allegations.”