Senator Bill Frist’s holdings in HCA, a hospital holding firm that his family helped build, has been a conflict-of-interest for him during his entire time as a Senator — but he seems to have only just realized this as he readies himself to make a run for the White House.
Held in a so-called “blind trust,” Frist’s HCA holdings were sold recently — at his direction. Allegedly, he did not know how much of his family’s firm he owned, nor did he know from his brother or others that the stock was about to take a dive.
This reeks of insider-knowledge type corruption — and if Frist hoped to demonstrate an end to conflict-of-interest concerns, he actually did the opposite.
Now we need to watch carefully for any meddling at all by Bill Frist buddy and new SEC boss Christopher Cox.
— Steve Clemons
