U.S. Sen. Majority Leader Bill Frist has some splainin’ to do.

Frist, from Tennessee, sold a large amount of stock in HCA Inc., a massive hospital company that his family founded, just before a poor earnings estimate sent its price tumbling by 9 percent. His wife, children and other large investors in the company also sold, getting rid of about $112 million worth of stock between January and June. The Securities and Exchange Commission and federal agents are investigating the well-timed sale, which could have been worth as much as $35 million for Frist.

Maybe Frist, his family and friends were extremely lucky.

Frist, as the most powerful Republican in the U.S. Senate and a man with presidential aspirations, has been a major player in health care legislation throughout his 11-year tenure in Congress. Democrats have accused him of having a conflict of interest because of his holdings in HCA. Frist has responded that the stock was held in a blind trust and he had no conflict.

It seems the blind trust has a bit of a seeing-eye dog. Frist prompted the sale of the stock with a call to his trustees telling them to sell.

Amy Call, the senator’s spokeswoman, said the only objective of the sale was “to eliminate the appearance of a conflict of interest.” If that was the motivation, it comes a little late and is a real bust. The senator has more to worry about now than just the appearance of a conflict of interest.