# Bill Frist: too bad YOU can't be charged with anything! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 27, 2004, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-frist-too-bad-you-cant-be-charged-with-anything/236740 "2004-03-27T15:45:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2004, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-frist-too-bad-you-cant-be-charged-with-anything/236740/21 "2004-03-28T04:45:22Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > One could almost make a case that Frist’s remarks WERE treason. If he falsely denounced Mr. Clarke(with malice aforethough, IMHO), then he gave aide and comfort to the enemy. OBL has gotta be eating this up, if he’s still alive. I’m getting fairly annoyed that the ‘giving comfort’ part of treason is getting misinterpreted as making our enemies feel good. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2004, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-frist-too-bad-you-cant-be-charged-with-anything/236740/22 "2004-03-28T11:33:37Z")
> [@El Gui](#): > > “Shielded”? From prosecution?? Who suggested otherwise? > > I’m talking about relevance in a newspaper’s article, not in some court of law! It was relevant to MSNBC and, from other posts here, it’s pretty relevant to not just to me. > > My point was the detail’s _irrelevence_ to the Wash. Times. C’mon Libertarian, I’d be really surprised if you didn’t realize this all along. Any effort on my part to try and make this more simple would border on condescension and the resulting pangs of guilt on a bleeding heart ain’t healthy, you know. 😉 What the fuck is this sort of distended rationalization by the egghead liberal set all about? Anyone who doesn’t toe your fucking line is automatically dense, obtuse, or deliberately trolling. You don’t need to make it more simple, idiot. You need to make it more sound. Aside from which, I haven’t defended the Washington Times in any way whatsoever. Kindly confine yourself to redistributing property only, and stop trying to steal thoughts out of people’s heads to redistribute for your personal plan to save humanity. Fucking commie. ---
**Author:** ![RTA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b4bc9f/32.png) [@RTA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTA)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2004, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-frist-too-bad-you-cant-be-charged-with-anything/236740/23 "2004-03-28T14:54:01Z")
> [@](#): > > out of morbid curiosity, cite? Maybe I could get to liking this Frist > character! Well, since you put it that way … … Do your own fucking research. ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2004, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-frist-too-bad-you-cant-be-charged-with-anything/236740/24 "2004-03-28T18:16:49Z")
Sorry **RTA**. Your a cat person, eh? ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2004, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-frist-too-bad-you-cant-be-charged-with-anything/236740/25 "2004-03-28T19:07:41Z")
> [@NurseCarmen](#): > > Sorry **RTA**. Your a cat person, eh? For Christ’s sake, **NurseCarmen** , the cite is right there in the section that you quoted. It’s from his own autobiography. I bet you can guess the name of the author and find it on Amazon. Did you really want a cite or did you just want to make a dead cat joke? Haj ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2004, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-frist-too-bad-you-cant-be-charged-with-anything/236740/26 "2004-03-29T08:38:13Z")
Although I am a Democrat, I have defended Frist in the past and considered him generally an honorable man. His accusations about Clarke’s testimony before the Senate _without actually knowing what that testimony was_ are absolutely unconscionable!!! And the notion that he would scold Clarke for apologizing to the families victimized by _all_ of the circumstances which contributed to the failure of the government to prevent the attacks on 9/11 – has me incensed! The final straw was the remark Clarke being the only common denominator over the ten year period. He is my Senator and I have lost all confidence in him. He says that he is not running for reelection to the Senate. I plan to be one of those that reminds him of that pledge. I will also write a letter and call his office and make sure other friends are aware of this. Thanks for the thread. And **Vibrotronica** , I appreciate the link very much. If there continues to be no real basis for his accusations against Clarke, I think that Bill Frist should be censured by the U.S. Senate. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2004, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-frist-too-bad-you-cant-be-charged-with-anything/236740/27 "2004-03-29T08:51:32Z")
He can’t be. Once again, see Article 1, Section 6. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2004, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-frist-too-bad-you-cant-be-charged-with-anything/236740/28 "2004-03-29T12:08:33Z")
> [@](#): > > He can’t be. Once again, see Article 1, Section 6. Why would the Senate (which is certainly not “any other place”) be prohibited from censuring comments by Mr. Frist? (Mind you, this is politics as usual and I foresee no censure in his future, but I see no prohibition in the Constitution against the Senate delivering a hand slap for his remarks.) ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2004, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-frist-too-bad-you-cant-be-charged-with-anything/236740/29 "2004-03-29T13:49:10Z")
> [@NurseCarmen](#): > > Sorry **RTA**. Your a cat person, eh? My girlfriend is in med school, and she is doing quite well _without_ cutting up cats. ---
**Author:** ![askeptic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb9ed0/32.png) [@askeptic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/askeptic)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2004, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-frist-too-bad-you-cant-be-charged-with-anything/236740/30 "2004-03-29T15:57:26Z")
> [@](#): > > Section. 6. Clause 1: The Senators and Representatives shall receive a Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States. (See Note 6) They shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place. I got no dog in this fight, but I do wonder. Is Clarke a senator or Representitive that falls under the protection of the constitution as the OP suggests? I do not think that Mr. Clarke did anything wrong, but I think the OP failed to read the constitution. ---
**Author:** ![IzzyR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/2acd7d/32.png) [@IzzyR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IzzyR)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2004, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-frist-too-bad-you-cant-be-charged-with-anything/236740/31 "2004-03-29T16:13:33Z")
> [@hawthorne](#): > > Of course he told two different stories: one was ‘with us’, one was ‘against us’. Although you presumably meant this sarcastically, I think this is an accurate and ample explanation of Frist’s comments. A person can give two different testimonies that slant very differently without having any direct technical contradictions. If Clarke gave two sets of testimony, the general gist of one of which was that the Bush administration is doing a great job fighting terrorism, and the gist of the other being that the Bush administrating is doing a terrible job, the Senate might well consider itself to have been snookered. However, if you can parse all the words and phrases and not find any direct contradictions, he would likely not be guilty of perjury. I would guess that Frist is familiar enough with Clarke’s earlier testimony to know that it was overall favorable to the administration’s terror-fighting campaign, in marked contrast to his second testimony, but that he has not looked it over in enough detail to say that he has perjured himself. Still in light of the overall contrast in testimonies, it would be worth a look to see if he has. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2004, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-frist-too-bad-you-cant-be-charged-with-anything/236740/32 "2004-03-29T18:46:51Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > Why would the Senate (which is certainly not “any other place”) be prohibited from censuring comments by Mr. Frist? > (Mind you, this is politics as usual and I foresee no censure in his future, but I see no prohibition in the Constitution against the Senate delivering a hand slap for his remarks.) A good point, Tom. I think you’re right. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2004, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-frist-too-bad-you-cant-be-charged-with-anything/236740/33 "2004-03-29T19:03:14Z")
> [@askeptic](#): > > I got no dog in this fight, but I do wonder. Is Clarke a senator or Representitive that falls under the protection of the constitution as the OP suggests? I do not think that Mr. Clarke did anything wrong, but I think the OP failed to read the constitution. The OP read the Constitution as you did. The OP referred to the Constitution’s protection of _Sen. Frist_’s words spoken on the floor of the Senate _about_ Mr. Clarke, not of Mr. Clarke’s words. Now the OP will stop referring to himself in the third person. 🙂 **Lib** , if you read back to **El Gui** ’s first post that you responded to, it’s pretty clear that he’s ticked about the Moonie Paper’s **journalistic** sin of omission in leaving out Frist’s later backpedaling, which undoubtedly left the WT’s readers with the impression that Frist had proof of Clarke’s perjury in his back pocket: > [@El Gui](#): > > I noticed the _Washington Times_ link includes additional remarks by Frist. He is quoted as stating the declassification would “permit an examination of Mister Clarke’s _two different accounts_.” [Italics mine] > > Of course, the Wash. Times fails to mention that Frist later “retreated” (as MSNBC so delicately puts it) from his accusations against Clarke. I think this bit of detail to the story is damn fucking important, but perhaps it’s just me. Article 1, Section 6 had nothing to do with **El Gui** ’s point. So can we all make nice, now? ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2004, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-frist-too-bad-you-cant-be-charged-with-anything/236740/34 "2004-03-29T19:57:38Z")
I hope we can. You might have missed my post just above yours. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2004, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-frist-too-bad-you-cant-be-charged-with-anything/236740/35 "2004-03-29T20:40:59Z")
Well, I saw it, but the strand of discussion about whether the Senate could censure Frist for what he said there, didn’t really bear on your back-and-forth with **El Gui** about the Moonie Paper. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2004, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-frist-too-bad-you-cant-be-charged-with-anything/236740/36 "2004-03-29T20:50:32Z")
There was no back and forth. He posted. I responded. It ended. Are you okay lately? ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2004, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-frist-too-bad-you-cant-be-charged-with-anything/236740/37 "2004-03-29T21:51:35Z")
> [@Libertarian](#): > > There was no back and forth. He posted. I responded. It ended. Are you okay lately? I’m fine, though I’ve got to wonder about you. Your exchange with **El Gui** ended with your saying: > [@](#): > > What the fuck is this sort of distended rationalization by the egghead liberal set all about? Anyone who doesn’t toe your fucking line is automatically dense, obtuse, or deliberately trolling. You don’t need to make it more simple, idiot. You need to make it more sound. Aside from which, I haven’t defended the Washington Times in any way whatsoever. Kindly confine yourself to redistributing property only, and stop trying to steal thoughts out of people’s heads to redistribute for your personal plan to save humanity. Fucking commie. This tirade of yours was completely due to a misunderstanding on your part. You owe him an apology, methinks. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2004, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-frist-too-bad-you-cant-be-charged-with-anything/236740/38 "2004-03-29T22:02:40Z")
Excuse me? You’re the apology bookkeeper? You just got through saying we should all make nice. What exactly did you mean by “we”? ---
**Author:** ![xenophon41](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xenophon41/32/253_2.png) [@xenophon41](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xenophon41)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2004, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-frist-too-bad-you-cant-be-charged-with-anything/236740/39 "2004-03-29T22:09:56Z")
**Lib** , I think he meant “those posting in this thread who’d like to fairly treat each others’ comments.” So you’re right; doesn’t seem to include you at the moment. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2004, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-frist-too-bad-you-cant-be-charged-with-anything/236740/40 "2004-03-29T22:17:01Z")
Actually, I was wondering whether it included _him_. Noticed your post in ATMB. Glad you made it in! 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-frist-too-bad-you-cant-be-charged-with-anything/236740.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-frist-too-bad-you-cant-be-charged-with-anything/236740.md?page=3)