Senators With Deep Pockets Eye White House

By DONNA CASSATA, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - Senators eyeing the White House are a well-heeled lot. Republican leader Bill Frist, the Tennessee heart surgeon whose father founded a hospital chain, has blind trusts valued between $7 million and $35 million, a significant chunk of cash if he opts to use some of his finances to start a 2008 presidential bid.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., earned nearly $2.4 million in book royalties from her memoirs while receiving income from a blind trust valued at $5 million to $25 million that she holds jointly with her husband, former President Clinton.

The Clintons, who once owed millions in legal fees to lawyers who argued their case in Whitewater and impeachment investigations, have paid off the last of their debts from the probes.

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