'Pharma Bro' Martin Shkreli Goes Complete Douchebag in Front of Congress

Martin Shkreli, 32, is finally getting his day in court, and for those looking for a reason to continue to loathe this guy, it didn't disappoint. Although he is facing federal securities fraud, and is known as the man who thought it was a wise business decision to spike a life-saving drug that helped fight HIV from $13.50 to $750 per pill, his bravado entered the Congressional chambers before he did. And he hardly said a word. Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz, a Utah Republican, asked Shkreli what he would tell a single, pregnant woman with AIDS who needed Daraprim to survive, and whether he thought he had done anything wrong. Shkreli declined to answer. "I intend to follow the advice of my counsel, not yours," said Shkreli after South Carolina Republican Representative Trey Gowdy suggested he could answer questions that were unrelated to pending fraud charges against him. That's precisely what he did. The counsel he got was to plead the Fifth Amendment for fear of incriminating himself. However, it's the cornucopia of body language that had everyone -- including the congressmen in attendance -- livid at the "Pharma Bro." From rolling his eyes to juvenile smirks to even appearing to fight back laughter, this brash attitudinal style of "nervous energy" -- as his attorney, Benjamin Brafman, called it -- caused some death stares to be hurled in his direction. [caption id="attachment_121186" align="alignleft" width="450"] PHOTO: Mark Wilson, Getty Images[/caption] Then again, losing $40 million while you are in jail will do that to a guy. However, U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Maryland) pounded his hands on the table and preceded to tear into Shkreli. "Drug company executives are lining their pockets at the expense of some of the most vulnerable families in our nation," U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Maryland, said. "It's not funny, Mr. Shkreli. People are dying and they're getting sicker and sicker." "You all spent all of your time strategizing about how to hide your price increase ... and coming up with stupid jokes while other people were sitting there trying to figure out how they were going to survive," Cummings said. He even plead the Fifth when asked about the name of the rap group whose album he paid $2 million. Yes, really. (It was Wu-Tang Clan, by the way.) And, to prove what was really behind that fiendish smirk, Shkreli did this upon his departure from Congress: Hard to accept that these imbeciles represent the people in our government. — Martin Shkreli (@MartinShkreli) February 4, 2016 And this: Check out my slick escape from the photographers into my armored SUV. #smoothhttps://t.co/QUntgc0Roo — Martin Shkreli (@MartinShkreli) February 4, 2016 MORAL OF THE STORY: The next time you are having a bad day, PR peeps, think of Shkreli. And thank your lucky stars he's not your client. [SOURCE: via, via]

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'Pharma Bro' Martin Shkreli Goes Complete Douchebag in Front of Congress

Bro!

Shawn Paul Wood

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