Bill Frist makes a stock market killing

[Balta1701]

Worse and worse...

 

While insiders at HCA Inc. were selling millions of dollars of their own stock this year, they were also painting a sunny picture of the company's outlook for investors. Federal prosecutors and the Securities and Exchange Commission are investigating the sale of HCA stock by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., whose family founded the company that grew into the nation's largest for-profit health care chain.

 

The SEC turned its initial inquiry into a formal investigation of the company, HCA announced Thursday. The company said it is cooperating with investigators.

[KipWellsFan]

AP: Frist accumulated stock outside trusts

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/12875498.htm

[FlaSoxxJim]

AP: Frist accumulated stock outside trusts

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/12875498.htm

Oops.

 

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.

 

In that case, the HCA stock was accumulated by a family investment partnership started by the senator's late parents and later overseen by his brother, Thomas Frist. The brother served as president of the partnership's management company and as a top officer of HCA. Sen. Frist holds no position with the company.

 

Edmond M. Ianni, a former Wilmington, Del., bank executive who established blind trusts for corporate executives, questioned why the senator's brother was able to manage assets "when the whole purpose of a blind trust is to ensure lack of not only conflict of interest - but appearance of conflict of interest?"

 

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."

[Balta1701]

Man, you go out to buy a microwave, and you miss a chance to bump one of your old threads. Blast!

[Balta1701]

Guess who's getting subpoenaed

[Balta1701]

Sad, the once daily "This sounds horrible for Frist" updates have now turned into bi-weekly updates.

 

The only good part...the news for him gets Worse at every single step.

 

Managers of the trusts that Frist once described as "totally blind," regularly informed him when they added new shares of HCA Inc. or other assets to his holdings, according to the documents.

 

Since 2001, the trustees have written to Frist and the Senate 15 times detailing the sale of assets from or the contribution of assets to trusts of Frist and his family. The letters included notice of the addition of HCA shares worth $500,000 to $1 million in 2001 and HCA stock worth $750,000 to $1.5 million in 2002. The trust agreements require the trustees to inform Frist and the Senate whenever assets are added or sold.

So it's a blind trust, except he has Geordi LaForge's VISOR.

[kapkomet]

Let's just rid Washington of every f***ing Republican, because they're all assholes who are power hungry, puppy kicking, rich mother f***ers that are after assholes like you and me.

 

I swear, that's what this is turning into.

[Balta1701]

Let's just rid Washington of every f***ing Republican, because they're all assholes who are power hungry, puppy kicking, rich mother f***ers that are after assholes like you and me. 

 

I swear, that's what this is turning into.

Dude, the only problem is that if you put the Democrats back in power, in about 5-10 years they'll have people doing the exact same sort of thing. Gingrich in 94 was complaining about how the Dems would change the rules on voting so that they would shut down Republicans tyring to debate, now the Repubs are doing exactly the same thing. Gingrich campaigned against Democratic corruption, now the Republicans have just gone after the exact same money pit.

 

If the Republicans would you know, stop lying, changing the rules, and breaking the law, we might not have as big of problems. But then again, if the Democrats hadn't done exactly the same thing 12 years ago, we wouldn't have had to put up with these bastards in there anyway.

[KipWellsFan]

It's the exact same thing in Canada. Conservatives are running on a "we're sick of liberal corruption" platform. But before the liberals were in power it was the conservatives who's Prime Minister had to resign due to massive corruption.

 

It sucks!

[southsider2k5]

See where Frist made his first mistake is he didn't ask Hillary to give him tips on how to get away with insider trading. Now he is going to have to suffer the same fate as Martha.

[kapkomet]

Where is the congressional investigations on the 270 or so members (who have admitted) on violations of travel misuses and abuses?

 

Where is the congressional investigations of the 75 or so senators who did the same thing Frist did, but didn't "get caught"?

 

That's more my point.

 

THEY ALL DO IT, and it's so partisan when they start choking each other's chicken, yes, the "blow job" included.

 

It's so sad. Our government is nothing but corruption.

[Mplssoxfan]

Where is the congressional investigations on the 270 or so members (who have admitted) on violations of travel misuses and abuses?

 

Where is the congressional investigations of the 75 or so senators who did the same thing Frist did, but didn't "get caught"?

 

That's more my point.

 

THEY ALL DO IT, and it's so partisan when they start choking each other's chicken, yes, the "blow job" included.

 

It's so sad.  Our government is nothing but corruption.

 

Here's some linkage to an excellent column about the issue, in general.

 

Because, let's face it, Frist is far from the only one doing something like this.