Apology, no fifiring: Offifficial said U.S. scientists hurting Trump

A Trump WASHINGTON — health appointee who is accused of trying to muzzle an important scientifific publicationinthemidst of thecoronavirus pandemic apologized Tuesday for a separate video in which he reportedly says scientists battling the virus are conspiring against President Donald Trump and warns of shooting inAmerica if Trump loses the election.

Michael Caputo, the top spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services, apologized to his staffff for the Facebook video, said an administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal matters.

The department is standing by Caputo so far in the face of calls by congressional Democrats for his dismissal— and for the resignation of his boss, HHSSecretaryAlexAzar. But Caputo, a Trump loyalist and former New York political operative, has become a signifificant new problem for aWhite House that has struggled all year with its coronavirus response.

HecanbeheardonanHHS podcast asserting thatDemocratsdon’twant a coronavirus vaccine before the election in order to punish Trump.

News reports alleged last week thatCaputo’soffiffice tried to take over andmuzzle a scientifificweeklyfromtheCenters for Disease Control and Prevention that publishes what is supposed to be authoritative, unvarnished information about disease- fifififighting efffffffffffforts, including, most importantly at present, COVID-19.

Then on Monday came an account of the video onCaputo’s personal Facebook page in which he accused government scientists of conspiring against Trump and suggested violence couldbreak out after the election.

Caputo was named the topHHS spokesman in April, during a tense period in relationsbetweentheWhiteHouse andHHS SecretaryAlexAzar.

On a taxpayer-funded podcast earlier this summer he accused Democrats and the media of notwanting a coronavirus vaccineuntil after the elections in order to defeat Trump.

“There are people in the