Frist - Insider Trading?

[Max Power]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dy...5/09/20/AR2005092001767.html?nav=rss_politics

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, a potential presidential candidate in 2008, sold all his stock in his family's hospital corporation about two weeks before it issued a disappointing earnings report and the price fell nearly 15 percent.

Frist, a surgeon first elected to the Senate in 1994, had been criticized for maintaining the holdings while dealing with legislation affecting the medical industry and managed care. (spokeswoman) Call said the Senate Select Committee on Ethics has found nothing wrong with Frist's holdings in the company in a blind trust.

"To avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest, Senator Frist went beyond what ethics requires and sold the stock," Call said.

So, Frist was criticized for holding stock in health care while dealing with health care legislation, so 11 years later, and right before the company (owned by his family) issues a disappointing earnings report, he decides to sell it, "to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest?"

That's a lot to swallow.

 

[dilloduck]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dy...5/09/20/AR2005092001767.html?nav=rss_politics



So, Frist was criticized for holding stock in health care while dealing with health care legislation, so 11 years later, and right before the company (owned by his family) issues a disappointing earnings report, he decides to sell it, "to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest?"

That's a lot to swallow.

If you have proof--convict his ass.

 

[Max Power]

If you have proof--convict his ass.

It looks like he did everything by the book, which incidentally is somewhat easier when you're the one writing the book.

Anyway, hopefully this will keep him off the ticket in '08.

 

[dilloduck]

It looks like he did everything by the book, which incidentally is somewhat easier when you're the one writing the book.

Anyway, hopefully this will keep him off the ticket in '08.

You mean you just figured out that politicians write laws to benefit themselves?

 

[Max Power]

You mean you just figured out that politicians write laws to benefit themselves?

:scratch:

 

[ProudDem]

I hope something comes out of it. It seem a major coincidence that he would sell all of his families' stock right before a serious announcement.....

 

[dilloduck]

I hope something comes out of it. It seem a major coincidence that he would sell all of his families' stock right before a serious announcement.....

And we are hoping he gets nailed because he's---------- ??????

 

[theim]

Ted Kennedy killed a woman and he's still in the Senate. Stranger things have happened.

 

[Avatar4321]

I hope something comes out of it. It seem a major coincidence that he would sell all of his families' stock right before a serious announcement.....

So let me get this straight:

While he owned the stock, he was being critisized that him owning stock would create a conflict of interest.

So he sells the stock and now he is getting critisized that he was just selling the stock because he knew it would go down.

Sounds like a classic example of: Damned if you do, Damned if you don't.

 

[ProudDem]

So let me get this straight:

While he owned the stock, he was being critisized that him owning stock would create a conflict of interest.

So he sells the stock and now he is getting critisized that he was just selling the stock because he knew it would go down.

Sounds like a classic example of: Damned if you do, Damned if you don't.

I hadn't read that that was the reason he sold his stock. Where did you see that?

Alright Avatar, this is in today's Washington Post. Yeah, he was selling them because of a conflict of interest? Initially, he argued that it's not a conflict of interest, but then suddenly, after 10 years, he sees the light? Riiiiiiiiight.

Mr. Frist's Curious Timing

Friday, September 23, 2005; A22

TENNESSEE Republican Bill Frist has been a senator for almost 11 years now, majority leader for three. During his tenure, Mr. Frist, a heart surgeon, has worked on -- and often taken a leading role in -- such health care issues as the Medicare prescription drug bill, limits on medical malpractice awards and managed-care legislation.

Throughout that time, Mr. Frist rebuffed suggestions that his extensive holdings in HCA, the giant hospital chain founded by his family, posed any ethical problem. When Democrats denounced this as a "blatant conflict of interest" during his run for a second term, Mr. Frist dismissed those concerns, brandishing opinions from the Senate's Select Committee on Ethics stating that he was free to vote on health care matters despite millions of dollars in HCA holdings. Indeed, Mr. Frist insisted, he had gone the extra ethical mile of putting his holdings in a blind trust.

So it's more than a little curious that Mr. Frist, who will end his Senate career next year, has chosen this time to decide to heed ethics concerns and sell off his HCA holdings. The senator's blind trust turns out to allow for a little peek-a-boo, and Mr. Frist instructed the trustees in June to get rid of the stock. That was good timing: The company's stock price fell 9 percent the next month, after it disclosed lower-than-expected second-quarter profits.

Mr. Frist's spokeswoman, Amy Call, said the move was based "purely on wanting to avoid any future appearances of conflict." But, of course, if that was a problem, why did it take the senator more than a decade to figure it out? After all, any such perception didn't seem to bother Mr. Frist this year, when he championed medical malpractice caps even as his family's hospital empire included a large malpractice insurer.

One possible explanation for Mr. Frist's action is that he is weighing a presidential run and wanted to get any potential ethical issue out of the way. A more conspiratorial explanation comes to mind, as well, which is that Mr. Frist had some advance knowledge of the company's impending bad news. Mr. Frist's brother is HCA's largest individual shareholder, its chairman emeritus and a member of the company's board. There's no evidence that Mr. Frist had inside information or traded on it, though Ms. Call's careful phrasing -- that the senator "did not have any conversations with HCA executives about HCA stock when he was making the decision to divest" -- is curious.

Still, Mr. Frist's sudden and well-timed change of mind about his ethical obligations at least warrants further inquiry; this is the kind of thing the Securities and Exchange Commission does routinely. It ought to do so in this case, too -- if only to clear the senator of the worse of two unflattering possibilities.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/22/AR2005092202022_pf.html

 

[ProudDem]

And we are hoping he gets nailed because he's---------- ??????

Ummmm, because I can't stand him.

 

[ProudDem]

Ted Kennedy killed a woman and he's still in the Senate. Stranger things have happened.

*sigh*

When a person doesn't have a response to the situation at hand, he/she resorts to bringing something up that the opposing party did. Is that the best you can do? Bwhahahahhahaha

 

[dilloduck]

Ummmm, because I can't stand him.

Now there's a great reason to vote against a candidate---personal feelings!
I thought you were all into qualification taking precedent.

 

[ProudDem]

Now there's a great reason to vote against a candidate---personal feelings!
I thought you were all into qualification taking precedent.

Dillo, why is it that people on this message board have a hard time with being silly? If I put a wink face on there, it's because I am joking (well, in part). I do not like Frist because, for the most part, he and I are on opposite sides of the spectrum. He diagnoses a person whom he hasn't even examined. He thinks it's appropriate to pass legislation in a state issue. The list goes on (although I admired his stance on stem cell research).

This selling of the stock has just added to my dislike for him. Something is rotten in the state of Denmark......

 

[dilloduck]

Dillo, why is it that people on this message board have a hard time with being silly? If I put a wink face on there, it's because I am joking (well, in part). I do not like Frist because, for the most part, he and I are on opposite sides of the spectrum. He diagnoses a person whom he hasn't even examined. He thinks it's appropriate to pass legislation in a state issue. The list goes on (although I admired his stance on stem cell research).

This selling of the stock has just added to my dislike for him. Something is rotten in the state of Denmark......

You are assuming something is rotten in Denmark--there is no evidence that he did anything wrong. I don't speak for others on the board but I have a problem with people who make a comment and come back to say " I was only joking ---well, not really." You are lumped with other liberals because you choose to actually IDENTIFY YOURSELF as a proud dem yet you cannot explain why you are so proud. Care to elaborate on what it is about the democratic party that's just makes you feel like puffing out your chest?

 

[ProudDem]

You are assuming something is rotten in Denmark--there is no evidence that he did anything wrong. I don't speak for others on the board but I have a problem with people who make a comment and come back to say " I was only joking ---well, not really." You are lumped with other liberals because you choose to actually IDENTIFY YOURSELF as a proud dem yet you cannot explain why you are so proud. Care to elaborate on what it is about the democratic party that's just makes you feel like puffing out your chest?

You are assuming that something is NOT rotten in Denmark. So we can agree to disagree. You don't find it suspicious that after 10 years of owning that stock AND being a senator, that suddenly, he finds his and his family's ownership to be unethical? Anyway, you will give him the benefit of the doubt. I will not.

Sometimes when we are joking, there are half-truths to it. Sometimes not. I do not like Frist, and at that time, I didnt' feel like getting into the reasons I don't him--hence, my wink.

I like what the democratic party stands for, even though they don't know necessarily know what they stand for. And I don't know why I picked this name. I have used my initials and one person was able to figure out who I was on a different message board, and I didn't like that. I used another name, and I didn't like that one either. I am a person who uses people's names when I talk, and I dont' call people, "sweetie, honey, etc." It's a habit of mine to call people by name, which is why I first used my initials, since that is my name in some respects. So I picked this name because I couldn't think of anything else. I am boring when it comes to picking names.

 

[dilloduck]

You are assuming that something is NOT rotten in Denmark. So we can agree to disagree. You don't find it suspicious that after 10 years of owning that stock AND being a senator, that suddenly, he finds his and his family's ownership to be unethical? Anyway, you will give him the benefit of the doubt. I will not.

Sometimes when we are joking, there are half-truths to it. Sometimes not. I do not like Frist, and at that time, I didnt' feel like getting into the reasons I don't him--hence, my wink.

I like what the democratic party stands for, even though they don't know necessarily what they stand for.

I'm assuming nothing about Frist and not giving him the benefit of the doubt nor pre-judging him. I will wait and see what comes of it.

Half truths ?? Sometimes not?-----why so cryptic in your conversation? If you have something to say that you deem so important why don't you just come right out and clearly state your position?

I like what the democratic party stands for, even though they don't know necessarily what they stand for.

Another example of of a half truth or is this a secret or something?
Can you explain to me what you think the Democratic Party stands for and why you think some other democrats aren't even aware of what the ystand for?

 

[Avatar4321]

I hadn't read that that was the reason he sold his stock. Where did you see that?

Did you even read the original post?

To avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest, Senator Frist went beyond what ethics requires and sold the stock," Call said.

 

[Max Power]

Did you even read the original post?

And you honestly believe that after holding this stock and being in congress for 11 years, Frist just decided to sell the stock? So what... it wasn't a conflict of interest for 11 years, and then it was?

And for evidence you cite, "Because his spokeswoman said so?"

 

[ProudDem]

And you honestly believe that after holding this stock and being in congress for 11 years, Frist just decided to sell the stock? So what... it wasn't a conflict of interest for 11 years, and then it was?

And for evidence you cite, "Because his spokeswoman said so?"

Oh, I like you! The New York Times (or maybe it was the Washington Post) said that his spokeswoman carefully worded her statement. I believe there might be something to this.......(boy, I hope so. )