Between 1998 and 2002, Senator Frist earned $265,495 from a Tennessee blind trust, Bowling Avenue Partners, that was not subject to Senate ethics
rules. The trust was made up primarily of nonpublic Hospital Corporation of America stock administered by Sen. Frist's brother Thomas Frist, who
also happened to be a top corporate officer at HCA. Sen Frist's sale of HCA stock this past summer is under federal investigation.
www.miami.com
AP: Frist accumulated stock outside trusts
LARRY MARGASAK and JONATHAN M. KATZ
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Outside the blind trusts he created to avoid a conflict of interest, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist earned tens of thousands of
dollars from stock in a family-founded hospital chain largely controlled by his brother, documents show.
The Tennessee Republican, whose sale this summer of HCA Inc. stock is under federal investigation, has long maintained he could own HCA shares and
still vote on health care legislation without a conflict because he had placed the stock in blind trusts approved by the Senate.
However, ethics experts say a partnership arrangement shown in documents obtained by The Associated Press raises serious doubts about whether the
senator truly avoided a conflict.
Kathleen Clark, a government ethics expert at the Washington University in St. Louis School of Law, said she doesn't believe the Senate trusts or the
Tennessee trust insulated Frist from a conflict because the senator or his brother were advised of transactions and could influence decisions.
"What I find most appalling is the Senate calls it a qualified blind trust when it's not blind," Clark said. "Since the Senate says it's OK, the
Senate has made it a political question. It's up to the voter. But there's no doubt it's a conflict of interest."
Please visit the link provided for the complete story.
It's not a conflict of interest because the Senate says it isn't. The Emperor isn't naked, his clothes are just invisible. You have to admire
that devil-may-care style.
[edit on 12-10-2005 by Icarus Rising]