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COPYRIGHT 2005 Voxant Inc.
Original Source: CNBC/DOW JONES BUSINESS VIDEO ANALYST INTERVIEW
MARIA BARTIROMO, CNBC ANCHOR: Meanwhile, the Justice Department is taking a long, hard look into Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist`s sale of the stock in his family-owned company. They want to know if the Tennessee Republican`s sale of Hospital Corporation of America stock came as a result of inside information. CNBC`s Rob Reynolds has more on that story from Capitol Hill -- Rob.
ROB REYNOLDS, CNBC REPORTER: Well, good afternoon, Maria. And Senator Frist is speaking out publicly about this issue now, saying that there was nothing wrong or improper about the circumstances under which he sold his HCA stock this summer, just two weeks before it dropped 16 percent.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REYNOLDS (voice-over): Late yesterday afternoon, Senator Frist said he did not sell stock based on insider information.
SEN. BILL FRIST (R), MAJORITY LEADER: My only objective in selling the stock was to eliminate the appearance of a conflict of interest. I had no information about HCA or its performance that was not publicly available when I directed the trustees to sell the stock.
REYNOLDS: In January 2003, in an exclusive interview with CNBC just after he became majority leader, Frist said his blind trust prevented him from even knowing whether he owned HCA stock.
FRIST: As far as I know, I own no HCA stock. I have no idea. And I hope -- as far as I know, I don`t have any.
CRAIG HOLMAN, PUBLIC CITIZEN: That`s not a credible statement by Bill Frist.
REYNOLDS: Craig Holman specializes in congressional ethics for the liberal watchdog group, Public Citizen....
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