Martin Shkreli appears before congress

Current Events –
Martin Shkreli Smirks At Congress

Martin Shkreli, AKA “Pharma Bro,” AKA “The Most Hated Man In America” may soon be on his way to jail.  Still, that hasn’t stopped him from being as snarky and abrasive as possible toward the very people who could possibly help him.

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Current Events
Last Thursday, Shkreli appeared on Capitol Hill for an unforgettable engagement with congress. The performance by the part-time pharmaceutical executive and full-time villain was both entertaining and pathetic all at the same time.

The boyish-faced Martin Shkreli looked and acted as if he was 13, clasping his hands and rubbing his fingers as if being scolded by a lecturing parent.  Visibly agitated,  he then spent his time before congress squirming one moment, then looking sedate the next. He made faces to display his belief that the whole exercise was beneath him. He even smirked at congressional leaders while refusing to answer any and all of their questions, repeatedly uttering the prepared statement “On the advice from counsel, I invoke my 5th Amendment privilege against self-incrimination and respectfully decline to answer your question.”

When Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-South Carolina tricked Shkreli into answering one lone question about the correct pronunciation of his last name, the congressman slyly joked “See, you can answer questions without incriminating yourself.” Quickly regaining composure, Shkreli replied “I intend to follow the advice of counsel, not yours!”

Following the hearing, a flabbergasted Rep. John L. Mica, R-Florida couldn’t believe what he had just witnessed. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen the committee treated with such contempt,” Mica said, while requesting that Shkreli be held in contempt of Congress.

Current Events
Not long after his moment on Capitol Hill, Shkreli took to social media to finally express the feelings he had bottled up during the hearing. “Hard to accept that these imbeciles represent the people in our government,” he tweeted.  Apparently, Shkreli can’t decide whether to be amused or outraged when he is treated like the monster he so skillfully created himself to be.

Martin Shkreli became a controversial figure last year, when he purchased the AIDS drug Daraprim, then jacked up the price 5000% via his firm Turing Pharmaceuticals, raising the price from $13.50 to $750 per pill.  After extreme public outlash, Shkreli vowed to lower the cost of the life saving drug, but backpedaled on his promise soon after. Although the rate increase was outrageous, it wasn’t illegal. However, his alleged involvement in securities fraud was illegal and is the reason the feds have been after him.

For a man who has been indicted on federal charges for fraud and faces a possible 20 year jail sentence, his congressional appearance was a veritable clinic on how to make enemies.  Needless to say, he’s making it very easy for a judge to hand him the max sentence.

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last week’s snarky appearance by Martin Shkreli before congress.