Martin Shkreli, the former CEO of Turning Pharmaceuticals appeared before Congress yesterday as part of a hearing into drug pricing.
Advertisement
He then retweeted a half-dozen other insults directed at Congress, calling members “pathetic human beings” and “buffoons”.
The Congressional committee wanted to talk to him about an email they obtained, which shows Shkreli immediately recognizing the potential for profit in acquiring the drug. On Thursday the members who questioned saw him make use of it in a big way repeatedly invoking the Fifth Amendment of the U. S. Constitution that says that nobody shall be forced in any criminal case “to be a witness against himself”.
The 32-year-old Brooklyn native declined to give an opening statement and then answered the first question by saying, “on the advice of counsel I invoke my Fifth Amendment privilege against self incrimination and respectfully decline to ask your question”.
Representative Elijah Cummings from Maryland, a ranking democrat on the House Committee of Oversight and Government Reform, said, “I call this money blood money… coming out of the pockets of hardworking Americans”. And what about that Wu-Tang Clan album you bought for million, Gowdy asked him?
Shkreli announced several days ago that he would be pleading the Fifth at today’s hearing, but the questions Thursday appeared to test his self-restraint.
Since that time, besides being vilified for his unapologetic, arrogant attitude, Shkreli was arrested and indicted in December with securities fraud charges not related to the Daraprim issues. “I think everyone will recognize that Mr. Shkreli is not a villain, he is not the bad boy”.
Ellie tweeted: “This guy needs to eff off or I will hunt him down”, in response to a video where Shkreli disses the rapper Ghostface Killah, and threatens to erase his contributions from the one-of-a-kind Wu-Tang Clan album – Why does it always come back to this album?
Shkreli’s lawyer later tried to justify his behavior.
Shkreli later held a public chat online, as he often does daily.
When Shkreli left the hearing, “the frustration exploded”, Brafman said in an interview on CNBC, and Shkreli tweeted, “Hard to accept that these imbeciles represent the people in our government”.
Although Retzlaff and Schiller answered questions, some observers judged their attempts at circumlocution as suspect. I did donate to him…
As early as last May, Turing planned to turn Daraprim into a $200-million-a-year drug by dramatically increasing its price, according to documents obtained by the committee.
“I know you are smiling, but I am very serious, sir”, Cummings said. “The way I see it you could go down in history as the poster boy for greedy drug company executives, or you can change the system. People are dying. And they’re getting sicker and sicker”, said Cummings.
Advertisement
Cummings: I truly believe you could become a force of tremendous good.
