evidence: The CDC had gone from being the world’s finest disease SWAT team to batting back claims from the administration that it was doing a lousy job. [...] But McGowan and the CDC were often on the losing side. One of their prime tormentors was Michael Caputo, a political fixer handpicked by Trump himself to oversee communications at HHS. A proud protégé of convicted dirty trickster Roger Stone, Caputo had served as an adviser for Russian politicians, worked for Trump’s campaign and promoted conspiracy theories. Soon after arriving at HHS in April, Caputo began riding herd over CDC communications seen as conflicting with Trump’s political message. He made it clear that anyone who dared talk to a journalist without approval could be fired. [...] In August, the CDC stunned infectious disease doctors everywhere when it recommended that people who had close contact with a COVID patient didn’t necessarily need testing if they didn’t have symptoms. Even Butler, one of the highest ranking scientists at the agency, began signing his emails to state and local health departments, "Keep testing, Jay."