HHS Spox: The CDC Is “Going To Have To Kill Me”

The New York Times reports:

Michael Caputo, 58, the assistant secretary of public affairs at the Department of Health and Human Services, said without evidence that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was harboring a “resistance unit” determined to undermine President Trump. Mr. Caputo, who has faced criticism for leading efforts to warp C.D.C. weekly bulletins to fit Mr. Trump’s pandemic narrative, suggested that he personally could be in danger.

“You understand that they’re going to have to kill me, and unfortunately, I think that’s where this is going,” Mr. Caputo, a Trump loyalist installed by the White House in April, told followers in a video he hosted live on his personal Facebook page. Mr. Caputo on Sunday complained on Facebook that he was under siege by the media and said that his physical health was in question and his “mental health has definitely failed.”

Holy crap, read the rest.

Michael Caputo, the assistant secretary of public affairs at HHS, said without evidence that the CDC was harboring a “resistance unit” determined to undermine Trump and accused career government scientists of “sedition” in their handling of the pandemic. https://t.co/tw5jOvuhEB

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) September 14, 2020

Caputo sounds like Kurtz (in both “Heart of Darkness” and “Apocalypse Now”): “shadows on the ceiling in my apartment, there alone, shadows are so long.” He wants bullets to fight imaginary death squads. These people are insane, and they are dangerous. https://t.co/h3DGfogfBG

— Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) September 14, 2020

In this piece, Michael Caputo, a political spinner close to Roger Stone who Trump installed at HHS to coordinate a pro-Trump message on Covid-19, comes across as troubled and dangerous. He should not be in an important position related to a pandemic.https://t.co/ULU19RLC0K

— David Corn (@DavidCornDC) September 14, 2020

Michael Caputo sounds like he needs help, and he most definitely shouldn’t be in a position of authority in the government. I hope the people responsible for his security clearance (yes, senior HHS officials have them) take his words in this piece seriously. https://t.co/VvRs6LOLfq

— Matthew Miller (@matthewamiller) September 14, 2020

Trump DHS appointee Michael Caputo spun conspiracy theories about left-wing hit squads being trained for insurrection and accused CDC scientists of “sedition” on Facebook Live last night.

Caputo is a former Kremlin advisor.https://t.co/xEbaxoSz8O

— Leah McElrath ?️‍? (@leahmcelrath) September 14, 2020

Caputo went on to say that he’s concerned that someone is trying to kill him.

“I don’t like being alone in Washington,” Caputo posted on Facebook, Sunday. He described “shadows on the ceiling in my apartment, there alone, shadows are so long.”https://t.co/0jdvtHOF3z

— Cheri Jacobus (@CheriJacobus) September 14, 2020