Will Shkreli’s Twitter Ban Impact His Securities Fraud Trial?

Former Turing Pharmaceuticals CEO Martin Shkreli was kicked off Twitter for harassing a reporter on the social media service, while an upcoming securities fraud trial looms. “It will have no impact on his trial,” Shkreli’s lawyer Ben Brafman told FoxBusiness.com. Fox’s judicial news analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano agrees, however he noted that it could impact sentencing if Shkreli is convicted. “The only way this type of anti-social behavior could come into legal proceedings is in the case of a conviction if the feds decide to use it as ‘prior bad acts’ as they push for the maximum sentence,” he said. Shkreli is on trial for securities fraud and conspiracy after a hedge fund he ran, MSMB Capital, was linked to biotech company Retrophin, where he served as CEO. The indictment accuses him of “misappropriating Retrophin’s assets through material misrepresentations and omissions in an effort to satisfy Shkrelie’s personal and unrelated professional debts and obligations.”