WASHINGTON

DELAY LAWYERS SUBPOENA DISTRICT ATTORNEY

Lawyers for indicted Rep. Tom DeLay yesterday subpoenaed the prosecuting Texas district attorney in an effort to show he acted improperly with grand jurors.

The subpoena for Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle, filed in Austin, asked that the prosecutor and two of his assistants appear in court to explain their conduct. The lawyers had previously filed a motion asking for dismissal of the conspiracy and money-laundering charges against Mr. DeLay, the former House majority leader who has stepped aside from that post because of the indictment.

Dick DeGuerin, Mr. DeLay’s attorney, also asked that grand jurors be released from their secrecy oath so they could answer questions about the prosecutor’s conduct. Mr. Earle, leading a Texas campaign finance investigation that indicted Mr. DeLay and two political associates, went to three grand juries. He presented evidence on Mr. DeLay’s alleged role in funneling corporate money to Texas legislative candidates in violation of state law.

– Associated Press

FRIST ACCUMULATED STOCK IN FAMILY COMPANY OUTSIDE SENATE TRUSTS

Outside the blind trusts he created to avoid a conflict of interest, Senate Majority Leader Frist earned tens of thousands of dollars from stock in a family-founded hospital chain largely controlled by his brother, documents show.

The Tennessee Republican, whose sale this summer of HCA Incorporated stock is under federal investigation, has long maintained he could own HCA shares and still vote on health care legislation without a conflict because he had placed the stock in blind trusts approved by the Senate. However, ethics experts say a partnership arrangement shown in documents obtained by the Associated Press raises serious doubts about whether the senator truly avoided a conflict.

In that case, the HCA stock was accumulated by a family investment partnership started by the senator’s late parents and later overseen by his brother, Thomas Frist. The brother served as president of the partnership’s management company and as a top officer of HCA. Dr. Frist holds no position with the company.

The senator’s share of the partnership was placed in a Tennessee blind trust between 1998 and 2002 that was separate from those governed by Senate ethics rules. Dr. Frist reported Bowling Avenue Partners, made up mostly of non-public HCA stock, earned him $265,495 in dividends and other income over the four years.

– Associated Press

CLINTON THROWS SUPPORT BEHIND WIFE

President Clinton said yesterday that his wife, Senator Clinton, is qualified to serve as president and will have his full support if she decides to make a bid for the job in 2008.

“If she ever did that and she won, she’d be fabulous,” Mr. Clinton said during an appearance via satellite at a Harvard University forum held to mark the 10th anniversary of the founding of George magazine. “I have no idea if she’ll run. I have no idea if she would win if she did, but I’ve never known anybody I thought did a better job and brought more ability to public life,” the former president said.

Mr. Clinton said he has counseled his wife to stay focused on her bid for re-election to the Senate next year. “You never look past the next election, or you might not get past the next election,” he said.

The former president also said it is time for his career to take a backseat to that of his wife. “Whatever she wants to do, I’m for. We did it my way for about 27 years, and I owe her about, near as I can calculate, 25 more years to catch up,” he said, noting that yesterday was the couple’s 30th wedding anniversary. “I’m taking my wife to dinner and then maybe to a movie, even though ‘Commander in Chief’ is on television tonight,” Mr. Clinton quipped.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

SOUTH

U.S. APOLOGIZES FOR ACTIONS IN WWII GOLD TRAIN CASE

MIAMI – The American government issued a statement of regret yesterday for the actions of soldiers who took valuables belonging to Hungarian Jews that had been seized on a Nazi “Gold Train” during the chaotic end of World War II.

The statement issued by the Justice Department said that the government “regrets the improper conduct of certain of its military personnel” who took items that had been on the train, which was carrying jewelry, gold, artwork, Oriental rugs, china, cutlery, linens, and other items.

– Associated Press