- Michael Caputo, a top Health and Human Services official and former Trump campaign aide, is eating his words after a Facebook outburst in which he accused federal scientists of “sedition” and said that Joe Biden would lose the presidential election and then be responsible for left-wing violence “when Donald Trump refuses to stand down.”
- Caputo apologized yesterday to his boss, Alex Azar, and their staff, and said that he was under stress because of concerns about his physical health and threats to his safety. One person close to the situation said Caputo was considering taking a leave of absence.
- His online diatribe came after a series of public reports emerged detailing how Caputo and a top aide had combed through health bulletins from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and sought to edit their findings or even stop their publication, in an attempt to cast the administration in a more positive light.
| Top HHS official takes leave of absence after Facebook rant on CDC conspiracies |
| Michael Caputo, the top spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services, is taking a leave of absence after promoting dangerous conspiracy theories in a Facebook Live video. In the video, Caputo, who is the department's assistant secretary for public affairs, charged that scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention "don't want America to get well." The department said in a statement on Wednesday that Caputo will take a 60-day leave of absence to "focus on his health and the well-being of his family." |
