FILE- In this June 26, 2017, file photo, former Turing Pharmaceuticals CEO Martin Shkreli arrives to federal court in New York. (AP)
Federal prosecutors want to silence “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli and filed a motion Monday asking that he and all attorneys in his criminal case be ordered to refrain from making statements outside court.
Shkreli, a former pharmaceutical company CEO most notorious for raising the price of a lifesaving drug by 5,000 percent while at another company, is on trial for charges of federal securities fraud.
Federal prosecutors told U.S. District Court Judge Kiyo Matsumoto that Shkreli has interacted with the media since the jury for his trial was picked and that his statements risk tainting it.
"Shkreli appears determined to ignore the instructions of defense counsel and to wage his own public relations campaign against the witnesses and the government during the trial," prosecutors said.
Defense attorney Benjamin Brafman objected to a gag order and said "certain representatives of the press have gone out of their way to try to 'bait'" Shkreli into making public statements. He said his client is "under enormous pressure that is compounded by his clearly frail emotional state."
Prosecutors said another alternative could be for the judge to semi-sequester the jury.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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