Md. Congressman Goes Head-To-Head With Former Pharmaceuticals CEO

He sat placidly, hands clasped, a polite smile fixed upon his face, as members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee fired questions at him. Shkreli’s Turing Pharmaceuticals raised the price of the life-saving drug Daraprim to $750 a tablet from $13.50.

“What would you say to Hillary Clinton if you could debate her right now?” one person asked.

Members of the House Oversight Committee were probably giving each other high-fives Thursday for making Martin Shkreli look like a smug jerk under their questioning about the high drug prices at his former company, Turing Pharmaceuticals. To every question he was asked, Shkreli responded, “On the advice of counsel, I invoke my Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination and respectfully decline to answer your question”.

Bejnamin Brafman, Shkreli’s lawyer, defended his client and said that he never meant to be disrespectful and attributed Shkreli’s smirks and fidgeting as “nervous energy”.

Unlike Shkreli, Turing’s chief commercial officer Nancy Retzlaff and Valeant interim CEO Howard Schiller not only attended the hearing, but they also answered questions. Gowdy said to Shkreli.

“I think it’s extraordinarily unfair that Turing has been singled out for the type of unfair publicity that they have received and when all of the facts about Daraprim and Turing are ultimately disclosed I think everyone will recognize that Mr. Shkreli is not a villain”.

The two drug company executives who did speak at the hearing took different approaches in their testimony.

After refusing to answer question after question, Rep. Trey Gowdy, who was visibly frustrated commented that Shkreli “didn’t have to be prodded to talk” on television or Twitter.

“It’s probably pretty late in the game to expect personality change, but people do sort of have what we call “Come to Jesus moment” where they say, ‘oh my goodness what have I done?'” Plante said.

In December, FBI agents showed up at his Manhattan apartment to arrest the baby-faced executive on unrelated securities charges.

The counsel he got was to plead the Fifth Amendment for fear of incriminating himself. He also refused to discuss his $2 million purchase of a Wu-Tang clan album.

Cummings’ remonstrations did little to stop Shkreli who continued to laugh, twirl a pencil while now yawning. This is not a new medication, but a 60-year-old one that is the go-to treatment for toxoplasmosis.

On Wednesday, defense attorney Benjamin Brafman told reporters that his client would stop speaking out in his own defense until the charges are resolved.