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[TN Sen] Frist Issue Adds to GOP's Ethics Troubles
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| Contributor | ArmyDem |
| Last Edited | ArmyDem Sep 25, 2005 06:56pm |
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| Category | News |
| Media | Newspaper - Washington Post |
| News Date | Monday, September 26, 2005 12:55:00 AM UTC0:0 |
| Description | Sale of Stock Before Its Price Fell Gives Critics Opening to Target Senate Leadership
By Charles Babington and Jeffrey H. Birnbaum
Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, September 25, 2005; Page A06
Two federal inquiries into Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist's stock sales have handed Democrats a chance to broaden their long-stated claim that Republicans push ethical boundaries and focus on laws that help the rich, political analysts said yesterday.
Until now, such accusations have centered on the House and White House. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (Tex.) has been chastised three times by the chamber's ethics committee, and a Texas grand jury recently indicted a political action committee he had organized. The Bush administration's top federal procurement official, David H. Safavian, was arrested last week on charges of obstructing a criminal investigation into lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who has close ties to DeLay and other prominent GOP lawmakers.
Now, with the revelation that federal prosecutors and the Securities and Exchange Commission are looking into Frist's sale of hospital stock shortly before its value fell, Democrats are expanding their ethics accusations into the Senate's GOP leadership ranks.
Activists in both parties agree it is much too early to say whether Frist (R-Tenn.) engaged in insider trading, a charge that could cripple his 2008 presidential hopes. But the mere launch of inquiries by the SEC and the Justice Department allows Democrats to claim that both House and Senate majority leaders operate under ethical clouds. |
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