Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) owned hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of HCA stock outside of the blind trust created to avoid the appearance of conflict of interest, the Associated Press reports. The news agency has obtained documents which it says show Frist retained control of shares in the company, which his father co-founded through a family partnership maintained by his brother. Ethics experts say that the arrangement allowed Frist effective control of the shares, which could be a conflict of interest.
A spokesperson for Frist noted that the politician disclosed his position to the Senate as required and that the partnership has since been dissolved. Cynics will note that this is hardly the first time HCA has been in the news for the wrong reasons; of the 10 largest settlements ever to resolve charges of defrauding the government, HCA is responsible for two.
- see this article from the AP
- for more details, read this article from the Tennessean