With
the indictment of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay rapidly eating up the airwaves, Bloomberg's
Otis Bilodeau reports that there is a new major development in the case surrounding Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (via
atrios).
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist faces a near-term ordeal unwelcome to anyone, particularly an ambitious politician: an official probe into his personal financial dealings by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The SEC authorized a formal order of investigation of Frist's sale in June of HCA Inc. shares, people with direct knowledge of the inquiry said yesterday. The order allows the agency's enforcement unit to subpoena documents and compel witnesses to testify, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the order hasn't been made public.
"This turns the flame up under the kettle and keeps the water boiling," said Stuart Rothenberg, editor of the independent Rothenberg Political Report in Washington. "It means he's going to continue to be peppered with questions about this stock sale, and no politician wants to be questioned about things like that."
Even if it turns out that Frist's trades were completely above board -- and there's
no reason to believe this isn't the case -- this lingering story is surely a drag on Frist's already faltering bid for the 2008 GOP presidential nomination. It's unclear whether he'll be able to overcome this one.
On a larger scale, with the Democrats' prospects in the Senate improving and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee still maintaining a fundraising lead over its Republican counterpart, this story could further aide the Dems' quest to retake the upper chamber.
For continuing coverage of the two major scandals surrounding Frist and DeLay, visit my blog at Basie.org