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Nov. 7, 2023 - The Tucker Carlson Show
06:10
How A Joke About Hillary Clinton Landed Martin Shkreli In Prison

Tucker Carlson is joined by American businessman and convicted felon Martin Shkreli to discuss his controversial sentencing and time in prison. Shkreli also explains the joke he made about Hillary Clinton that may have cost him extra time in prison. Full interview here: https://x.com/TuckerCarlson Text “TUCKER” to 44055 for exclusive updates #TuckerCarlson #MartinShkreli #HillaryClinton #Clinton #FreeSpeech #Daraprim #Meme #Prison #Crime #News #Politics #Interview #Fraud #finance

Participants
Main
m
martin shkreli
05:04
Appearances
t
tucker carlson
dailycaller 00:58
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Speaker Time Text
tucker carlson ▲ ● ▼
So when you find out that you've been sentenced to seven years in prison, and you're a pretty young man at this point, what do you think?
martin shkreli ▲ ● ▼
Well, you know, I take it a step a few months before that where I was on bail and happy-go-lucky.
I was actually getting into the software business at the time.
tucker carlson ▲ ● ▼
And I figured, you know, you're on bail and getting into the software business.
martin shkreli ▲ ● ▼
Yeah, I just, I was, I was, you know, I was starting up a small effort to look in.
I needed to do something.
And, you know, I was expecting to go to prison, but I didn't expect to go for four years.
And I made a joke on social media about Hillary Clinton.
And all of a sudden, I found myself in front of a judge and they're throwing me in prison.
And yeah, I said something stupid, snied.
It was a joke.
You know, as a comedian, not all your jokes land.
And I actually, one of the reasons I have a social media following is I think some people find my stuff funny.
And, you know, I try to poke fun at power and authority and all the kinds of people who need to be taken down a peg.
And I, you know, I tried to do that.
And, you know, this joke fell flat.
It was some silly joke about Hillary Clinton's DNA.
And it got taken the wrong way by actually a New Yorker reporter, kind of flagged it.
This guy named Ali.
He sort of flagged it, basically took it to the government and said, look at this.
Arrest him.
And they did.
tucker carlson ▲ ● ▼
A New Yorker reporter didn't.
They're such monsters.
martin shkreli ▲ ● ▼
Yeah, they said this is a threat to Hillary Clinton.
I'm not threatening anything.
tucker carlson ▲ ● ▼
That's the joke.
martin shkreli ▲ ● ▼
It was about if I can get a sample of her hair, I can determine through DNA analysis, one of my expertises, that she may or may not be a lizard person, which is a completely, you know, it's a joke, obviously.
You know, she's a human being.
But, you know.
tucker carlson ▲ ● ▼
There's some debate on that.
But I mean, but it was a joke.
martin shkreli ▲ ● ▼
It's clear it was a joke.
I don't want Hillary Clinton's hair.
I'm not going to do a DNA analysis.
tucker carlson ▲ ● ▼
No, you don't want her hair.
No, you don't.
martin shkreli ▲ ● ▼
It's all a joke.
And, you know, they said this is a serious threat to her safety.
tucker carlson ▲ ● ▼
The New Yorker reporter said this.
martin shkreli ▲ ● ▼
And the government took it and ran with it.
The judge said, you know what?
You're right.
Who would find this funny?
And my lawyer's sort of sitting there saying, about half of America thinks this shit's funny.
And this very liberal judge from Berkeley, great, great judge, by the way.
But she said, you know, this is a bona fide threat to her safety.
Your bail's done.
Why?
tucker carlson ▲ ● ▼
You got sent to prison for, I guess you're not the first.
I mean, we just interviewed someone else who's about to be sent to prison for the same, but I guess you can't make fun of Hillary Clinton.
There are limits to the First Amendment.
martin shkreli ▲ ● ▼
There are very strong limits.
And I think that it's another thing I learned is that the First Amendment is this very qualified right.
I mean, it's extremely qualified.
And I had to learn that the hard way.
And I became a constitutional law scholar trying to understand why I can't make a joke.
And it was frustrating.
I think that making a joke about Trump would not have reached the radar of the government.
unidentified
You think?
martin shkreli ▲ ● ▼
I mean, I just would have not been that interesting.
tucker carlson ▲ ● ▼
Wow.
So you went back to jail for how long?
martin shkreli ▲ ● ▼
So basically, from there, I had to stay until my sentence.
My sentence was...
tucker carlson ▲ ● ▼
How long were you in jail before trial?
martin shkreli ▲ ● ▼
I went...
No, I was already convicted.
So I was awaiting sentencing.
And when it came time for sentencing, I don't think that helped that she had to throw me in for this joke.
And it probably, my lawyer says it cost you at least another year or two because it's not a great thing.
tucker carlson ▲ ● ▼
Did you ever reach out to the New Yorker reporter and say, hey, thanks for throwing me in prison for a joke?
martin shkreli ▲ ● ▼
It's interesting.
That person became, who does like a lot of takedowns.
That was their shtick, is that they write these big takedown pieces of this person's awful.
Well, I feel bad for that person, actually.
I'm a Catholic.
And I look at that person and say, this is a sad existence.
And that person actually ended up over the years becoming depressed and suicidal and said, I don't want to live like this, tearing people down for a living.
unidentified
Really?
martin shkreli ▲ ● ▼
Yeah, it was fascinating to see.
My girlfriend, who's the reporter who covered my case, sent me in documents that this guy was literally on Twitter saying, I'm suicidal.
I want to take my own life.
And I look back and I said, those things aren't an accident.
I mean, if you spend your life digging up dirt on people, trying to ruin their lives, and it must be a miserable existence.
tucker carlson ▲ ● ▼
That's, wow, what a wonderful take on that.
Because I think you're absolutely right.
But you can see past your own bitterness to.
martin shkreli ▲ ● ▼
You have to be able to turn the other cheek.
I mean, I don't even blame the government, to be honest.
I mean, it's something where, you know, I've had a great life.
I'm halfway done.
And I'm going to keep doing great things.
And, you know, if nobody can get you down, I mean, for me, it's the hallmark of a good entrepreneur is persistence and perseverance.
tucker carlson ▲ ● ▼
Okay, four and a half years in prison.
Okay, so what was, I mean, that would be enough to get most people down.
In fact, to drive them into a city.
martin shkreli ▲ ● ▼
I had a friend kill himself before.
He was a hedge fund guy in the same field as me.
And he insider traded.
And he got arrested on Monday, killed himself on Tuesday.
And it's not easy.
But if you're a real entrepreneur, jail is nothing.
You know, the ups and downs of your own company, you know, surviving and fighting and a customer wants to pull out, or there's going to be a hit piece on you in Bloomberg, or John is leaving to go to a competitor.
This stuff will make your stomach turn.
And jail is like a break from reality.
You know, it's a four years where you're just on the bench.
You know, you're in the penalty box.
tucker carlson ▲ ● ▼
Were you afraid going in?
martin shkreli ▲ ● ▼
You know, I, of course, didn't know what was going to happen, but I talked to enough people who said, you know, it's the kind of place where if you want to fight, you'll find a fight.
And if you want to be cool, you'll be cool.
And I think the number one thing you don't want to be in prison is, I learned this on the spot, is you don't want to be an informant and you don't want to be a child sex offender.
Those are the two big kind of red flags.
And most of the negative attention kind of goes to those two people.
As somebody who went to trial, which almost nobody does because it's a foregone conclusion with the verdict, you're guilty.
I mean, there's nobody that's found innocent.
And again, my pride for the five charges I was found not guilty of means that the U.S. government made a huge, flagrant error that they accused me of five crimes that I didn't do.
unidentified
Y'all hear people say the news is full of lies on Tanner Day's motor cabinet.
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