VIDEO:Martin Shkreli Does Little to Help His Cause in Smirky Encounter With Capitol Hill ‘Imbeciles’

Embattled Turing Pharmaceuticals CEO Martin Shkreli apparently did not show up on Thursday for his hearing before the House Oversight Committee with a mind to shift public opinion in his favor or convince attendant legislators that he held anything resembling respect for the proceedings.

Not to mention the lawmakers themselves, for whom Shkreli had some choice words to tweet later about his company’s drug pricing practices. He had comparatively little to say inside the halls of Congress, as he invoked his Fifth Amendment rights to steer clear of creating further trouble for himself in an official capacity.

His body language did plenty of talking, however. Throughout the meeting, the 32-year-old “pharma bro” performed a series of meme-ready facial expressions while further underscoring the uphill battle that lies in store for his legal team, as ABC News detailed that day:

As lawmakers blasted him for raising the price of Daraprim by 5,000 percent, the former pharmaceutical executive rolled his eyes, smiled and even appeared to doodle.

Shkreli, who was subpoenaed to appear at the hearing by the committee, tweeted moments after leaving the Capitol:

Hard to accept that these imbeciles represent the people in our government.

— Martin Shkreli (@MartinShkreli) February 4, 2016

[...] House lawmakers accused Turing—along with Valeant Pharmaceuticals—of raising drug prices in search of profit. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), the top Democrat on the panel, released a series of e-mails from both companies Tuesday, saying they illustrated how the drug price increases were profit-minded from the start, despite the company’s public comments.

Shkreli’s attorney, Benjamin Brafman, gave his optimistic and utterly lawyerly take following the hearing, justifying his hourly rate with an incongruous interpretation of his client’s character and future prospects:  “When all of the facts about Daraprim and Turing are ultimately disclosed, I think everyone will recognize that Mr. Shkreli is not a villain,” he said. “He’s not the bad boy. I think at the end of this story that he is a hero.”

See how those statements square with the evidence in the video below (C-SPAN via YouTube):

—Posted by Kasia Anderson

Related Entries

• January 13, 2016 Too Bad, So Sad: Donald Trump’s Presidential Campaign Is Hurting His Company
• January 2, 2016 The Rumble From the People Can Work