Frist - Timing Is Everything (But Not To The AP)
Message 21745463
About Those "Ethics Woes"
Power Line
Much of the news coverage of Ronnie Earle's indictment of Tom DeLay--about which more later--has linked the indictment to the SEC investigation of Bill Frist's sale of HCA stock, with the theme being "the GOP's ethics problems." It's hard to say which issue is more trivial, although the SEC investigation is at least being carried out in good faith, unlike Earle's partisan hit-job. For those who haven't seen Frist's side of the story--like, if you've been reading the newspapers--here is his account of the HCA stock sale and related events; the real moral of the story is, no good deed goes unpunished:
When deciding how to handle my family's personal
investments, I always sought expert advice and Senate
Ethics Committee review and approval. Despite not being
required to do so, I sought and obtained two Ethics
Committee opinions acknowledging that my ownership of HCA
stock complied with Senate rules and did not present a
conflict of interest with my Senate duties. Despite not
being required to do so, I later chose to place many of
my investments in blind trusts, including my HCA stock.
With these efforts, I have sought to guarantee that no
conflict of interest existed. Review after review has
found nothing wrong. Nevertheless, the complaints and
questions have persisted.
Because of these continuing questions, and looking ahead
at my final years in the Senate and what might come next,
I have for some time wanted to eliminate even the
possibility of an appearance of a conflict by totally
divesting of any HCA stock in my family's trusts.
In April, I asked my staff to determine if Senate rules
and relevant laws would allow me to direct the trustees
to sell any remaining HCA stock. After my staff reviewed
relevant statutes and Senate rules and consulted with
outside counsel and Senate Ethics Committee staff, I
learned that the rules allowed me to direct the trustees
to sell any remaining HCA stock in my blind trusts.
In May, my staff worked with outside counsel and the
Senate Ethics Committee staff to draft a written
communication to the trustees. After obtaining pre-
approval by mid-June from the Senate Ethics Committee, I
issued a letter directing my trustees to sell any
remaining HCA stock in my family's trusts.
Now I am being asked to explain this decision. I
understand that. And I welcome it.
An examination of the facts will demonstrate that I acted
properly. I will cooperate with the Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC) and the U.S. Attorney for the
Southern District of New York to provide the information
they need as quickly as possible. My only objective in
selling the stock was to eliminate the appearance of a
conflict of interest. I had no information about HCA or
its performance that was not publicly available when I
directed the trustees to sell the stock.
How unethical can you get?
powerlineblog.com
frist.senate.gov
