Frist aides rebuke press over HCA stock-sale questions

December 14, 2005

Frist aides rebuke press over HCA stock-sale questions
By Jonathan Allen and Elana Schor

Tired of questions about their boss’s stock dealings, aides to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) angrily confronted an Associated Press reporter in the Senate chamber and in a nearby hallway yesterday after a question-and-answer session on the floor.

Frist’s top aide, Eric Ueland, took exception to Jonathan M. Katz’s line of questioning during the “dugout,” loudly chastising Katz as reporters filed out of the Senate chamber and into the hallway.

“It’s ticking me off because it’s offensive,” Ueland said in an exasperated tone.

The testy exchange demonstrates sensitivity among Frist’s aides to both the legal and political questions posed by the timing of the majority leader’s divestiture of HCA holdings just before a sharp drop in the company’s share price. Frist is widely expected to seek the presidency in 2008, but the story could jeopardize his political viability.

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