Lobbyists Hug High-Tech Hub

5 Feb 2008 // That Was Then..

Two and a half years ago, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington complained to the Senate ethics committee about a sale of stock in a hospital company by then-Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.).

Yesterday, more than a year after Frist left Congress, the activist group finally received a response: The ethics panel cannot act in part because Frist is no longer a member of Congress.

"After failing to take action while Senator Frist was in office, the Ethics Committee now notes it does not have jurisdiction over former members," said the organization's executive director, Melanie Sloan.

Think of it as Catch-23.