Infamous former pharmaceutical CEO Martin Shkreli says he would love to return to Congress to testify, but only if he gets immunity.
Shkreli tweeted his demand on the same day the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee announced a Sept. 21 hearing to scrutinize the price increase of allergy treatment EpiPens.
“One sentence and you can hear from me,” Shkreli tweeted to committee leaders Wednesday.
Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, the top Democrat on the committee, has shown particular interest in having Shkreli come back.
“I am excited about the possibility of bringing Shkreli back. Hopefully he will provide some testimony this time,” Cummings said during a Wednesday committee hearing.
Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, was more skeptical.
“I’m not sure ‘pharma boy’ is coming back,” he said at the hearing.
Shkreli drew widespread public outrage after his former company, Turing Pharmaceuticals, raised the price of its anti-malarial drug Daraprim by 5,000 percent, from $13.50 to $750.
Shkreli left Turing in December after he was indicted on multiple federal securities and wire fraud charges that were unrelated to the company or the drug.
He was subpoenaed by the oversight panel but invoked his Fifth Amendent rights and did not offer any testimony.
However, the hearing was memorable as several lawmakers took turns criticizing Shkreli while he smirked back at them.
The hearing on Wednesday is expected to offer testimony from Heather Bresch, the CEO of EpiPen maker Mylan Pharmaceuticals, which is drawing similar outrage for a $600 price tag.
