Conservative Cash For Sen. Clinton

Rupert Murdoch Quietly Supports Senator's Re-Election Campaign

(CBS/AP)  Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., attended a fundraiser Monday for her Senate re-election campaign hosted by conservative media mogul Rupert Murdoch.

Murdoch has maintained that Clinton has been a good senator and that his support for her now doesn't say anything about who he might back for president in 2008. Clinton leads national polls among potential Democratic presidential contenders. Her campaign reported raising $5.7 million during the second quarter of this year.

There was shock and upset when the Clinton-Murdoch fundraiser was initially announced and the two have tried to downplay the event ever since, reported the New York Daily News. Even when Clinton left the News Corp. Manhattan offices, she exited by a side door.

After hosting Clinton for breakfast, Murdoch attended a National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) fundraiser featuring Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a potential Republican challenger to Clinton in 2008, the Daily News said.

The NRSC declined to comment about Murdoch's attendance at the Clinton fundraiser, CBSNews.com reports.

Murdoch's media holdings include the New York Post and the Fox television network.