You’ll Never Guess What Bernie Sanders Did With Martin Shkreli’s Campaign Donation

    Sen. Bernie Sanders. (David Becker / AP)

Remember Martin Shkreli, the contemptible pharmaceutical CEO who dramatically raised the price of an HIV medicine? Seems he contributed to Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign—something the Vermont senator was less than pleased about.

So Sanders did exactly what you’d hope a politician critical of Big Pharma would do: Instead of putting Shkreli’s contribution toward campaigning, the presidential hopeful donated the money to Whitman-Walker Health, a clinic in Washington, D.C., that specializes in HIV treatment.

From The Boston Globe:

The man who has become the public face of rising drug prices says he has donated to presidential candidate Bernie Sanders — who has been bashing Big Pharma on the campaign trail — to try to get a meeting so the two can talk it out.

Sanders isn’t interested. His campaign said Thursday that he’s giving the money to a Washington health clinic instead — and the drug executive isn’t getting the meeting. … In an interview with Stat on Thursday, however, Shkreli confirmed that he’d donated $2,700 to the Sanders campaign — the maximum individual contribution — on Sept. 28.

At the time, the campaign sent the Turing CEO a form e-mail full of populist fervor: “Our political system is corrupt. Big Money controls much of what happens. Together, you and I are changing that. Thank you again for your support. Best, Bernie.”

On Thursday, however, campaign spokesman Michael Briggs said Sanders won’t keep the money. Instead, the campaign will make a $2,700 donation to the Whitman-Walker health clinic in Washington. “We are not keeping the money from this poster boy for drug company greed,” Briggs said.

Read more.

—Posted by Natasha Hakimi Zapata