AP: Bill Frist now facing two investigations

[drfresh]

Senate Majority Leader allegedly disobeyed blind trust rules

Updated: 11:44 p.m. ET Sept. 24, 2005

WASHINGTON - Blind trusts are designed to keep an arm’s-length distance between federal officials and their investments, to avoid conflicts of interest. But documents show that Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist knew quite a bit about his accounts from nearly two dozen letters from the trust administrators.

Frist, R-Tenn., received regular updates of transfers of assets to his blind trusts and sales of assets. He also was able to initiate a stock sale of a hospital chain founded by his family with perfect timing. Shortly after the sale this summer, the stock price dived.

A possible presidential contender in 2008, Frist now faces dual investigations by the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York and the Securities and Exchange Commission into his stock sales.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9469609/

/edited to include more info

[Skink]

1. Just goes to show the Bush's still are in control.

[Elidor]

5. I dub this: Operation Make-room-for-Jeb

And even a dumbfuck like Frist has to know whose knife that is in his back.

[ShockediSay]

22. Wonder if Gore would run again for his Tenn Sen seat? n/t

[BlueCaliDem]

100. I'd Rather Have Gore Run for President! N/T

[GetTheRightVote]

109. I too would like to see Gore run in 2008, it would be nice to vote for him

:kick:

[Name removed]

108. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[dhinojosa]

2. Differences between Martha and Frist....

In Martha's business, you can bounce, and even become more popular after serving time.

In Frist's business, you cannot bounce, you are done for. Zip, Nada, Zippo, Zilch!

[bluestateguy]

3. I think this will cost him his job as majority leader

There is no excitement about him for president. The religious right is mad at him for cutting the deal with Democrats on judges and b/c of stem cell research. He is also not running for reelction in 2006, so this may be his swan song. But I doubt he will be indicted.

[Pirate Smile]

4. "received regular updates of transfers of assets to his BLIND trusts and

sales of assets. He also was able to initiate a stock sale ..."

Huh? What does "blind" mean exactly?

[iowa_democrat]

6. blind means

its ok to know every detail of your portfolio and initiate trades if you are a republican. Be watching out for the "every one on the hill does it this way" defense that they trotted out for the DeLay road trips. It is very effective , diverts attention while making everyone on the hill too nervous about their own transgressions to get too interested in what KatKiller was doing.

[agates]

15. Remember -- IOIYAR

Its Ok if you're a republican

:mad: :grr: :mad: :grr: :mad: :grr: :mad: :grr: :mad: :grr: :mad: :grr: :mad: :grr: :mad: :grr:

[northzax]

112. now that's a slogan for a t-shirt

IOIYAR simple and people will ask about it.

[calimary]

47. Welcome to DU!

I think during the Clinton persecutions it was referred to as "situational ethics" - their fancy-schmancy put-down-du-jour. Well, gee whiz, look at the pot calling the kettle black.

I weep for you, Dr. Vivisection...


NOT!!!!!!!!!!

[Inland]

75. Yeah, what's with that? How is it "blind" if

Frist knows what's in it and can direct the trustee to sell it?

That looks to me like the most acute vision trust one could have.

Ethics rules are a joke. Criminal prosecution is the only way to police these kleptocrats.

[Frances]

7. It seems there are several issues here

Martha Stewart didn't go to prison for insider trading. She went to prison for lying about her trade, as I remember.

From this article, it seems Frist has also lied, although to the public and not to federal investigators.

Then there is the insider trading possibility. Of course, Bush got a pass when he did it, but I don't think that's a reason to excuse Frist.

Finally, Frist is in charge of legislation that would benefit his stock.

[Bozita]

17. IIRC, she lied when talking to an FBI guy

Said she wasn't guilty of insider trading.

Not sworn testimony.

What am I missing?

[alfredo]

8. I'm grinning.

Trust me I am.

[0007]

41. I'm very hoppy, up and down like a four legged rabbit

[alfredo]

52. I was thinking "hoppy" as in beer.

I spend too much time at ratebeer.com

[kskiska]

9. Trent Lott must be ecstatic

Maybe…just maybe…

[0007]

56. I bet he's singing his sad ass off while he cleans his rug for the

next audition.

[Ksec]

10. This is Bvshs doing

He wants him out. Frist crossed him a few times and Bvshevic dont look kindly on that.

Bush is a totalitarian nazi.

[aquaman]

11. Good,

Hope he goes down, evil bastard.

[Dover]

12. Dubya has a blind trust too. Need to shine some light on that...n/t

[hang a left]

45. And let us not forget about all the Halliburton shares that

Cheney hold in his blind trust. Republican definition of Blind Trust must mean that only the owner of the trust gets to see.

[TankLV]

59. No silly! - it's only blind to the PUBLIC - so we can't see what CRIMES

these REPUKES are BRAZENLY committing!

[EndElectoral]

13. See what happens when you support stem cell research...

[Tatiana]

14. Guess his position on stem-cell research did Frist in.

Oh well. Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.

[bvar22]

16. A kick and a nomination!

This belongs on the Greatest Page.
Frist's little problems can't get too much publicity.

[TacticalPeek]

18. So, who will be the new majority leader?

:evilgrin:

[calimary]

48. I wonder if it will be that nauseating schmuck mitch mcconnell...

ICK. Or maybe they'll elevate santorum to give him more "luster" and "gravitas" as he goes into a very tough reelection campaign?

Frankly, they ALL turn my stomach at this point.

[MADem]

57. They could haul Trent back in for all we know

From what I understand, he has kept the staff, the conference room, the big office, the car and driver, and because Frist is such a fucking doofus, he has done the legwork on a lot of legislation (that HE likes, anyway) and has basically kept the majority party from falling totally on its ass due to greed and hubris all around.

Question is, would Helmet Head take up the standard on behalf of the boyking, or tell him, in Senate floor fashion, to go Cheney himself???

[Straight Shooter]

19. Revenge of the dead cats.

Well, I like to think so, anyway.

[alittlelark]

23. I'll second the 'REVENGE OF THE CATS'

I just wish I had been first to post it!

[Piperay]

71. I like to think that

too! :mad:

[Eurobabe]

74. more like the revenge of thou shalt not go against

King George's stem cell policy.

[ShockediSay]

20. If his trust was blind, my a**hole can see

"Frist spokesman Bob Stevenson said the senator received approval from the Senate Ethics Committee before he initiated the stock sale. All the information Frist received complied with federal law and Senate ethics rules, Stevenson added."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/frist_blind_trust;_ylt=AvZg._j1KAg7HLaD.Lv6jBis0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3ODdxdHBhBHNlYwM5NjQ-

Oh! Well! The freeper Senate Ethics Committee approved! For a second there I thought something shady might have been going on (like, for instance, the freeper Senate Ethics Committee).

[Bozita]

31. The only thing "blind" in a blind trust is the public ...

... especially when it's in stocks, bonds, options, puts, calls, etc.

If it's complicated, we don't even want to hear it.

Runaway bride, anyone?

[pnorman]

38. "If his trust was blind, my a**hole can see"

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

I LOVE that! And I promise to give it a warm and caring home (ie: I'm going to PLAGIARIZE it, and shamelessly!)

pnorman

[ShockediSay]

63. Be my guest

Publish as far and as wide as you can > no copyrights here.

PS: Glad you enjoyed the laugh as much as I did when posting it (late at night after a couple of beers)

http://beeradvocate.com/

[norml]

21. Bill Behind Bars

Would make a good made for TV movie.

Recommended

[Elwood P Dowd]

24. Nothing will happen

Just a little warning from the Bush Crime Family. Have to keep the soldiers in line you know.

[UpInArms]

25. WP: Frist Issue Adds to GOP's Ethics Troubles

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/24/AR2005092401379.html

Two federal inquiries into Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist's stock sales have handed Democrats a chance to broaden their long-stated claim that Republicans push ethical boundaries and focus on laws that help the rich, political analysts said yesterday.

Until now, such accusations have centered on the House and White House. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (Tex.) has been chastised three times by the chamber's ethics committee, and a Texas grand jury recently indicted a political action committee he had organized. The Bush administration's top federal procurement official, David H. Safavian, was arrested last week on charges of obstructing a criminal investigation into lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who has close ties to DeLay and other prominent GOP lawmakers.

<snip>

"It is a drip, drip, drip," said former House majority leader Tony Coelho (D-Calif.), who knows the corrosive power of ethics charges. Coelho, who resigned in 1989 following accusations about a loan deal, said, "With DeLay and now Frist, it's a buildup of arrogance of power. . . . With Bush's numbers down, this could be a very negative thing for the Republicans."

Democratic consultant Jenny Backus said many Americans already think "things are rotten" in the capital's Republican-dominated political circles. "To have the Senate majority leader under an ethics cloud is going to drive this point home for the voters," she said.

<snip>

Frist, asked in a January 2003 TV interview whether he should sell his HCA stock, replied that his assets were in a blind trust and, "as far as I know, I own no HCA stock." Referring to his trust and those of his family, he added: "It is illegal right now for me to know what the composition of those trusts are. So I have no idea."

...more...

Republicans are the antithesis of ethical.

[NVMojo]

26. The morals and values bunch only values their own greed ...wake up,

America, wake up!!!

[Montauk6]

27. I've gotta reiterate this question...

Given how tightly webbed the GOP/RW network is, doesn't RICO kick in at some point?

[sando]

53. RICO

One or two of the widows of 9/11 victims are suing Busn and Co using the RICO statutes...Whether they succeed or not is another question. But certainly some legal minds do see it as a RICO offense.

[Trevelyan]

107. We need to hear more about the RICO suit against Bush

Isn't one of the widows named Elena Marina? Wasn't something like a RICO investigation requested with a lot of petition names to NY prosecutor what's his name who went after Wall Street bigwigs but apparently is afraid of going after bushco and the possible complicity of the Dancing Israelis and the Art Students.

Read article by someone who is Jewish saying that Elliot Spitzler is afraid of being a turncoat, used a word moser, I think that is grounds for murder of someone who is Jewish who is a turncoat.

Anyway would like to hear more about MOSSAD and their complicity in 911 with the Dancing Israelis and with Benjamin Netanyahu being warned about the London bombings. Someone on Smirking Chimp was banned for linking to sites that showed either the Israelis were warned by the British or the other way around and finally banned after several warnings in a row when she mentioned MOSSAD.

I was banned informally for a while when I protested and someone who is Jewish wrote me to say that even the Left Blogosphere gets bent out of shape when you mention MOSSAD. I did an link on a prominent site to 7th Fire who used to have a whole book online, not pdf, about MOSSAD. Next day and for several days error messages when tried to access 7th Fire and their book on MOSSAD seems to be gone.

David Shrimpton whose picture and name was in the headlines about the murder of Dr. David Kelly said on Infowars that the British Secret Service contracted MOSSAD to kill Princess Diana and talked about the tradeoff in murders among different countries secret service agencies.

[sando]

113. There are so many things

That need made public, brought into the light of day and it is that very light that evil reists and seeks to destroy knowing that very light is what extinguishes the evil that is done in the dark. The RICO statues should be used to prosecute the murders of JFK RFK and MLK, it was with these murders the entire history of this nation was completely altered, and to this date has become nothing more than a benign sort of fascist regime as opposed to Hitler's regime. It is my belief that Hitler himself was merely a puppet. No one not even in the early part of the 20th century came to power wihtout a great deal of monetary influence. Many American corporations were trading with the Nazis. In fact the one thing that American moneyed feared then more than anything was the communism and socialism that was beginning to sweep Europe. WWII was quite handy for them for it really stopped the movement towards the thing some of the rich fear most, a classless society.

As for the Mossad and the Zionists there are now books being written that point to a collaboration by certain Zionists with the Nazi state. A rabbi 2000 years ago once said "A man's enemies are of his own household". Something we should all look at more closely I believe.

[AndyTiedye]

35. That Means He has KNOWINGLY Violated The Law

No mere technical, "accidential" violation here.

Catkiller broke the law and he knew he was breaking the law.

Throw the book at him.

(Yeah, that'll be the day).

[Up2Late]

28. So what's the problem, sounds like the perfect...

...ReThuglican Presidential candidate.

[thebigidea]

29. ... and faces no Democratic criticism to speak of, eh?

Can you imagine if this were Reid? AND if he were a potential candidate for President? Smear ads nonstop. Talking points, the works.

Meanwhile, our brilliant strategy: "Uh, we'll let him... uh, we'll let him hang himself! Its brilliant political judo. Shaddup, i'm playing chess here. Not checkers. Never mind that i'm down to three pawns, its still chess. Right?"

SEC: "Donna Brazile on line two."

"Great, i'll take it."

[tinrobot]

30. Payback for stem cells?

Just sayin'

Those Bushes are paranoid about blind loyalty.

[electricray]

32. Call me when the headline is

Bill Frist now facing federal prison.

[The_Casual_Observer]

33. This is the end of that guy.

Ever since the enron deal the feds seem to consider this shit more serious than murder.

[Bozita]

34. What Frist sold: HCA -- largest Medicare fraud in history -- $1.7 BILLION

HCA is the Frist family business.

take a look:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=printer_friendly&forum=104&topic_id=4846742&mesg_id=4846742

[JCMach1]

36. This will go forward 'cause * wants Frist out of the way for JEBtm

to come in...

[fujiyama]

37. So let's see:

You've got the House Majority leader taking bribed from various Turkish groups, the House Whip, who is one of the most corrupt members of congress, and now Bill Frist and this crap.

Let's not even get started on this administration.

What was that about "adults being back in charge"?

[TankLV]

60. They meant "adult CRIMINALS".

Notice they didn't say WHICH kind of adults.

[cassiepriam]

39. What is really going on? Repugs always do insider trading

Why are they after Frist?

[fasttense]

40. These so called blind trusts is how Cheney boy

makes huge money out of Halliburton while being Vice President. The last President or Vice President to take bribes while in office was Taft wasn't it?

[Vinca]

42. Do I dare have the "perp walk" dream again??? nt

[Zynx]

43. Even if he is cleared, this charge will destroy him.

It just smells bad and people will assume guilt. He's done.

[Psephos]

70. I'm inclined to agree nt

[usregimechange]

44. kicked, mediablasted, and sent accross the world

[Judi Lynn]

46. Frist inquiries may raise the stakes

Sept. 24, 2005, 10:29PM

Frist inquiries may raise the stakes
Democrats gain an opportunity to extend claims about GOP ethics into the Senate
By CHARLES BABINGTON and JEFFREY H. BIRNBAUM
Washington Post

WASHINGTON - Two federal inquiries into Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist's stock sales have handed Democrats a chance to broaden their long-stated claim that Republicans push ethical boundaries and focus on laws that help the rich, political analysts say.

Until now, such accusations have centered on the House and White House. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land, has been chastised three times by the chamber's ethics committee, and a Texas grand jury recently indicted a political action committee he had organized. The Bush administration's top federal procurement official, David Safavian, was arrested last week on charges of obstructing a criminal investigation into lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who has close ties to DeLay and other prominent GOP lawmakers.

With the revelation that federal prosecutors and the Securities and Exchange Commission are looking into Frist's sale of hospital stocks shortly before their value fell, Democrats are expanding their ethics accusations into the Senate's GOP leadership ranks.

Activists in both parties agree it is too early to say whether Frist, of Tennessee, engaged in insider trading. But the mere launch of inquiries allows Democrats to claim that Republican leaders operate under ethical clouds.
(snip/...)

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/politics/3368455
(Free registration required)

[hang a left]

49. I find it interesting that the article you posted and the original post

refer to David Safavian as "The Bush administrations top federal procurement offical" rather than "former" which was the wording of all the other articles that have come out in the past week.

[leesa]

50. Now that's a nice headline to wake up to!

[nonconformist]

51. Hahahahahaha

Frist for Republican nominee in 2008! :evilgrin:

[sando]

54. With any luck at all

This will kill his Presidential aspirations. He'll make Bush look like a piker.

[krkaufman]

55. NOW WE KNOW the basis for Frist's diagnosis of Terry Schiavo...!!!

Many have wondered how someone supposedly credentialed as a doctor could have diagnosed Terry Schiavo as responsive, saying, "She certainly seems to respond to visual stimuli."

Well now we know. He had simply become confused as to the meaning of "blindness." Frist was thinking, "I have a blind trust, but I can see everything that's going on in it; so Terry Schiavo being blind shouldn't affect her ability to see, either."

[MADem]

58. Heh, heh...that has comedy skit potential! nt

[krkaufman]

67. I was proud of myself on that one. Nice double-whammy...

... on Frist, not letting him run away from the Schiavo nonsense.

[ignatius 2]

61. Woo-hoo..bring down all the crooked bastards, clean our

government of these crooks.

I was so mad when Martha Stewart was railroaded and used as an example when the Enron and Worldcom stories were breaking. Chimpy, who sold Harken stock(his own company) without filing with the SEC right before bad earnings were announced, of course walked away..whose says money and the right connections don't buy our legal system?

[savistocate]

64. "all the crooked bastards"

After WHgang-Bush/Mafia corp expose Scwarzennogger, his blind trust trustee is one of his _closest_ friends he has done business with for years. So much for qualification of having no contact to minimal contact communication with. And they're setting themselves up to balloon their profits out of sight.

[Changenow]

62. A potential opponent eliminated

I was baffled at how this investigation was allowed, then I had a eureka moment. The administration seized the opportunity to knock off a potential rival. These guys should realize that without rules it's every man for himself. They don't have honor or a political philosophy other than greed so even opponents on the same side are fair game.

McCain should be very worried. I can't wait to see what's in store for him, but it will be good.

[Matariki]

65. Congratulations Mr. Frist!

Come on down! You've won an all expense paid vacation at Camp Cupcake and a lovely electronic ankle bracelet.

[fishwax]

66. Sweet

Is the Bush clan getting a head start on the 2008 games? Who's the next target? Either way, I can't feel sorry to see his sorry ass investigated.

[roguevalley]

68. hm. i wonder if he's ever going to be preznit?

[NAO]

69. This is a blow to the Religious Reich; Frist was their anointed choice

for the next POTUS.

Of course, all of Bush's evil and obvious unethical behavior did not stop the Electoral Shock Troops of the Religious Reich from marching to the voting booths on America's most tragic day (11-02-04) and casting their vote for Bush.

However, as the Religious Reich feel their power increasing, they will be more and more demanding and put greater muscle into their pressure on political candidates as they attempt to seize total control of the political process.

*****

Fundamentalist Radical Clerics such as Falwell, Dobson, and Robertson are not merely medieval throwbacks or misguided religious hacks. They are part of a well organized subversionary movement known as "Dominionism".

Dominionism constitutes a serious threat to American Democracy. These Radical Clerics have developed and are executing a detailed plan to gradually replace the free, secular democratic society of the United States with a Theocracy.

It is critical that people become aware of the extreme agenda these people have for the United States and ultimately for the world. The results of the 2004 Presidential Election were not a fluke or something that was drummed up over a period of months. It has been in planning for over 20 years, and what we are seeing take place now is, in the words of Katherine Yurica, "the swift advance of a planned coup".

The Swift Advance of a Planned Coup: Conquering by Stealth and Deception - How the Dominionists Are Succeeding in Their Quest for National Control and World Power
http://www.yuricareport.com/Dominionism/TheSwiftAdvanceOfaPlannedCoup.htm

The Despoiling of America: How George W. Bush became the head of the new American Dominionist Church/State
http://www.yuricareport.com/Dominionism/TheDespoilingOfAmerica.htm

Video on the Christian Reconstructionist Dominionist Theocratic Agenda
http://www.theocracywatch.org/av/video_dominion.ram

The Rise of the Religious Right in the Republican Party
a public information project from TheocracyWatch.org
http://www.theocracywatch.org

The Yurica Report - News, Intelligence, Analysis
http://www.yuricareport.com

The Religious Right - An Anti-American Terrorist Movement
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article8816.htm

*****

Unless something breaks the stranglehold of religious fundamentalism in the US - and in the world - I think we are going to continue the slide into Theocracy and destruction.

The Freethought Zone
Science and Reason Over Religion and Superstition
http://freethought.freeservers.com /

Freedom from Religion Foundation
http://www.ffrf.org /

Secular Humanism
http://www.secularhumanism.org /

Secular Web
http://www.infidels.org/index.shtml

Thomas Paine's The Age of Reason - Online
http://www.infidels.org/library/historical/thomas_paine/age_of_reason/index.shtml

Complete Works of Robert Ingersoll - Online
http://www.infidels.org/library/historical/robert_ingersoll/index.shtml

[ladylibertee]

72. Go Ahead Frist ! Represent Yo Peeps ! LOL LOL LOL

[jamesinca]

73. OOpps wrong thread

I am so easily confused by myself.

[Roland99]

76. Dems will win in '06 by default as the Reps will all be in jail!

:rofl:

[Nightwing]

77. Prosecutors, SEC probe Frist stock sale

Although this story ran on 9/23, it was updated by USA Today this morning. Here's hoping indictments are coming soon!


WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., was updated several times about his investments in blind trusts during 2002, the last time two weeks before he publicly denied any knowledge of what was in the accounts, documents show.
The updates included stock transactions involving HCA Inc., the hospital operating company founded by Frist's family.

Frist's sale of HCA stock is under scrutiny by the federal government. Nashville-based HCA said Friday it had received a subpoena from prosecutors for the Southern District of New York, asking for documents the company believes are related to Frist's sale of company stock this past summer.

Prosecutors also have contacted the senator's office, Frist spokesman Bob Stevenson said Friday. He said neither the senator nor his office had received a subpoena.

Link: http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-09-23-frist-stock_x.htm

[fasttense]

78. What a Martha like thing to do. I hope we Tennesseans don't vote

this thief back in.

[liberal N proud]

79. If I were Martha or anyone who spent time for such activity

I would mount a personal campaign against this SOB to make sure he gets the same treatment as everyone else.

[Dover]

80. *

[Dover]

81. If he's lucky, maybe some of his jail mates will knit him a poncho too.

Or maybe Trump will invite him to do a version of the Apprentice upon release. Gosh....Trump, Martha, Frist...just think of the moral and business aptitude these glowing icons of corporate greed have to share with their little apprentices.

[Judi Lynn]

82. Frist's Political Future Darkens Over Questions on Stock Sales

Frist's Political Future Darkens Over Questions on Stock Sales

Sept. 26 (Bloomberg) -- At the start of this year, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist was looking at a bright political future. He led his party to an expanded majority in the Senate in November and emerged as a leading Republican hopeful for the 2008 presidential race.

Less than nine months later, that picture appears darker. Frist, 53, now faces inquiries into his stock sales by the Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission that threaten to undermine him politically and provide Democrats fresh ammunition with which to question their opponents' ethics.

``If there is really any evidence of insider trading, then he's in very serious trouble, and so is his party,'' said Gary Jacobson, professor of political science at the University of California in San Diego. ``It adds another brick to Democrats' argument that Republicans are corrupt.''
(snip)

Frist's HCA stock holdings in one of his blind trusts surged more than 30-fold from 2000 to 2001, according to financial disclosure statements filed with the Senate. By the end of 2001 he reported owning $500,001 to $1 million in HCA shares within an entity called Bowling Avenue Partners, which was part of his blind trust. That holding had been valued at $1,001 to $15,000 at the end of 2000. The leap in valuation could not have been the result of changes in share price; in 2001 HCA shares fell 12.4 percent after gaining 50.3 percent in 2000.
(snip/...)

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=aYyQPZcoBolY&refer=us

[dhinojosa]

83. Documents: Frist knew contents of blind trust!!!

Monday, September 26, 2005; Posted: 10:36 a.m. EDT (14:36 GMT)

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Blind trusts are designed to keep an arm's-length distance between federal officials and their investments, to avoid conflicts of interest. But documents show that Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist knew quite a bit about his accounts from nearly two dozen letters from the trust administrators.

Frist, R-Tennessee, received regular updates of transfers of assets to his blind trusts and sales of assets. He also was able to initiate a stock sale of a hospital chain founded by his family with perfect timing. Shortly after the sale this summer, the stock price dived.

A possible presidential contender in 2008, Frist now faces dual investigations by the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York and the Securities and Exchange Commission into his stock sales.

Sheldon Cohen, who was the trustee for Democrat Walter Mondale's blind trust when he was vice president, and drafted Democrat Lyndon Johnson's blind trust for Johnson's presidency, said that in the executive branch,"You don't tell them how it's composed." He said Frist, like any federal official, "absolves himself of conflict by not knowing what he owns."

Cohen said that when Mondale left office, he told Cohen to sell his assets. "He had no idea what I was holding," the Washington attorney and former Internal Revenue Service commissioner said.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/09/26/frist.blindtrust.ap/index.html

[babylonsister]

84. Another greedy POS repug gets outed; I hope

he follows Martha, or worse. He can kiss his prez aspirations goodbye; I say good riddance!

[beingthere]

86. Martha never

represented herself as a goody-goody "leader", promoted war etc. Unlike Frist and other admin "leaders" she is not responsible for thousands of deaths.

[babylonsister]

90. Welcome to DU, beingthere! And you're right,

Martha is a whole different category. But if punishment was good enough for her, Frist should be more 'responsible' and accountable to the taxpayers, so should pay for his sins.

[Fridays Child]

94. He'll get the Harken treatment: Nothing to see here. Move along.

Bill and the old boys are probably laughing it up, as we speak.

[WCGreen]

85. That is a major ethics violation

And should be investigated immediatley....

[AngryAmish]

87. Best investors in the world - US senators

Frist is guilty and should go to jail.

However nearly all US Senators easily beat the market consistently because, shock of shocks, they get inside information. This is a long-term problem that has been ignored for too long. I hope Frist is the first scalp they get and then go after more greedy repugs.

[BeyondGeography]

88. The best eyesight of any blind trust in history

I'm too cynical to think he'll pay a real price for this, but this is fun anyway.

Then again, Frist '08 ain't lookin' so good right now.

[Benhurst]

89. I hope they can get Jim Nabors to play Frist when they do

the movie about his time in jail.

[myrna minx]

91. I hope we see Mr. Frist doing the perp walk. n/t

[gratuitous]

92. Let's say it again for the kids on the short bus

If you know what's in your portfolio, and you can buy and sell assets at will, it's not a "blind trust." A blind trust is managed for the beneficiary by a trustee, and while the beneficiary knows what goes into the trust (after all, these are his investments), the trustee manages those assets to the best advantage of the beneficiary, and after a short time, the beneficiary doesn't know for sure what is and isn't in the trust. He can make some educated guesses based on the value of the trust, but he doesn't know for a fact what assets are held in trust for him.

Frist clearly knew what was in his trust, and had the power to buy and sell assets. That is not a blind trust, and it's pretty clear that he was not following the ethical guidelines of his position.

[ClintonTyree]

97. Great. one more neo-con, fundie down..............

thousands to go. The more of these theocratic lunatics that are removed from consideration for the presidency, the better.
Frist is a big one though, he was considered a front runner for the position and I hope he's made to pay for monetary indiscretions ala Martha Stewart. :hi: Bye bye, Bill!

[usregimechange]

93. kick

[kmla]

95. It's all just a little misunderstanding....

Let me explain. It's not supposed to be a BLIND trust - just a trust that needs reading glasses when it needs to see assets that are a little too close....



See? Just a little misunderstanding.

[onehandle]

99. Goodbye, Presidential Campaign.

Not that he had a chance within the party.

[Trevelyan]

106. Republican leadership in the Senate, House and White House are ALL

http://www.dailykos.com/
Frist under SEC investigation; FBI in the White House by kos
Fri Sep 23rd, 2005 at 10:24:40 PDT

The trifecta is complete. The Republican leadership in the Senate, House and White House are ALL officially under investigation.

Frist -The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating stock sales made by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist in HCA Inc. shortly before the Nashville, Tenn.-based company warned it wouldn't meet its previous second-quarter earnings forecast.

Mr. Frist, a Tennessee Republican and a potential presidential candidate in 2008, sold all his stock in HCA about two weeks before the company's share price plunged. News of the stock sales surfaced in news reports earlier this week. The company was founded as Hospital Corp. of America in 1968 by Mr. Frist's father, Thomas Frist, his older brother Thomas Frist Jr., and Jack Massey, who had made millions as the owner of Kentucky Fried Chicken.

The SEC is looking into whether Mr. Frist had any inside knowledge of problems at the company that prompted his sales, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.

http://www.theleftcoaster.com/archives/005403.php# also has article on main page.

[Independent_Liberal]

111. Yup, the trifecta is complete.

:)

[Independent_Liberal]

110. First DeLay and Rove, now Frist?

They just can't stay out of trouble, can they?

:)

[goforit]

96. Pure vengence!!!!.......Frist breaking away from Bush gets stung.

[BlueCaliDem]

101. Frist Has Been a Bad, Bad Rightwinger!

When I first read Frist being persecuted for insider trading, my first thought was exactly that!
That he had the GALL to break from the Bush Doctrine as Majority leader in Congress--and he's being punished.
Ooooh! They DO eat their young!

[Nothing Without Hope]

98. See this thread for the back story incl. MASSIVE 2000-3 HCA FRAUD CASE

Frist's family company eventually paid a record-breaking total of $1.7 BILLION to settle this case. Medicare fraud, doctor kickbacks, on and on.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4846742
thread title: NYT on FRIST’s possible insider trading - and HUGE 2000-3 HCA FRAUD

Of course our top Fristian never knew of ANY of these years of crime in his family company. Just like the sale before the price drop was sheer coincidence. And the Bush policies he pushed in the Senate only coincidentally were good for the family HMO's profits.

Fool us once...

[Fight_n_back]

102. Who Would Jesus Rob?

That's what I ask myself beopre every big swindle. Who would the Lord steal from? I think he would generally steal from the old, infirm and undereducated. Its why I am a Bush Republican.

[norml]

103. Frist's Political Future Darkens Over Questions on Stock Sales

Frist's Political Future Darkens Over Questions on Stock Sales


Sept. 26 (Bloomberg) -- At the start of this year, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist was looking at a bright political future. He led his party to an expanded majority in the Senate in November and emerged as a leading Republican hopeful for the 2008 presidential race.

Less than nine months later, that picture appears darker. Frist, 53, now faces inquiries into his stock sales by the Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission that threaten to undermine him politically and provide Democrats fresh ammunition with which to question their opponents' ethics.

``If there is really any evidence of insider trading, then he's in very serious trouble, and so is his party,'' said Gary Jacobson, professor of political science at the University of California in San Diego. ``It adds another brick to Democrats' argument that Republicans are corrupt.''

Frist through his spokesmen has denied any wrongdoing in the sale of shares of HCA Inc. held in a blind trust earlier this year, one month before a weak earnings report sparked a drop in the company's stock. Nashville, Tennessee-based HCA, the biggest U.S. hospital chain, was founded by Frist's father and brother.


snip


http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=aYyQPZcoBolY&refer=us

[shavedape]

104. is clean leadership to much to ask for!

boggle!!

[WhiteTara]

105. Does this mean that

Elliot Spitzer will investigate him?