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HenchPAC NewsWASHINGTON - Now that Hillary Clinton is a member of the rules-bound Senate, the golf clubs, clothes, carpets, DVD players and other gifts will stop. Right? Wrong.
Thanks to loosely worded regulations and a generous loophole for spouses, the quality of the Clinton's post-White House life shouldn't suffer one bit.
In fact, it could get better, according to the 528-page Senate Ethics Manual, which creates scores of exceptions and gives her spouse leeway to take gifts, meals and hospitality from anyone calling him a "friend."
For her part, Clinton must follow congressional rules, though most have exceptions. The gift rule alone allows 23 exceptions, the biggest of which is carte blanche clearance to take a gift of any value if it comes from a "friend."
Clinton, who begins her first full month as a senator this week, said through a spokesman that she has always followed all relevant laws and will continue to do so while in office.
"Sen. Clinton has been and will continue to abide by all the rules that govern the Senate and will provide all the appropriate disclosure set forth by those rules," said spokesman Jim Kennedy.
He noted that complaints about her $8 million book advance were flat wrong - the deal followed the guidelines perfectly and was checked and rechecked ahead of time to ensure compliance.
Indeed, while critics howled at the mega-deal the senator signed in December, the ethics manual clearly indicates it's legal.
The laws are murkier on what's appropriate given the size of the advance from a company - Viacom - that has dozens of interests before the Senate.
And while Clinton is generally prohibited from taking more than a total of $100 a year in gifts - $50 max per gift and $100 max for the whole year - her husband has almost no restrictions on what he can accept from friends and admirers.
The law says the former president - as her husband - can't eat too many meals paid for by lobbyists or registered agents with an interest in influencing a senator.
Yet, the rules also make clear that as long as meals are intended as simple hospitality and come from "friends," he's allowed to take as many free lunches as he wants from just about anyone.
Recently, the president split a $37 lunch in Chappaqua with fund-raising superstar Terry McAuliffe.
McAuliffe, the new chairman of the Democratic National Committee and a longtime Clinton ally, would likely face no problem if he decided to offer the family any form of hospitality.
Neither would Vernon Jordan, the wealthy Washington lawyer who Clinton turned to when he was trying to get rid of Monica Lewinsky.
Sen. Clinton won't confirm it, but there are reports that she's living at Jordan's home while her new mansion along Embassy Row is being painted.
Even though Jordan stands to gain by helping a member of the Senate, as a friend he's allowed to provide her with just about any type of hospitality.
While the rules permit the couple wide leeway, the Clintons are restricted on at least one front: disclosure.
Each May, both Clintons must provide the Senate with a detailed accounting of everything - including investment income, gifts and jobs they hold.
The rules say senators aren't supposed to earn more than 15 percent beyond their regular salary, though once again a generous exception is made for royalties, book advances and investments.
Senate rules also permit the use of legal-defense funds, which the Clintons maintain jointly to help pay legal bills resulting from the various investigations they've faced during their years in the White House.
In his most recent disclosure statement, President Clinton said his legal expense trust had raised $1.05 million.
Under Senate guidelines, that trust fund is allowed to continue soliciting money, and the couple can use the proceeds to pay any outstanding legal debt or any future ones.
On another front, the Clintons can rest assured that staying now and then in the homes of "friends" is fine with Senate watchdogs - as long as their hosts aren't lobbyists or using their digs as tax write-offs.
For years, the Clintons have stayed in the homes of rich and famous people, which they justified by noting that their lives of public service made owning a home unnecessary.
Here are some things Hillary Clinton can - and can't -get away with now
that she's a U.S. senator.
* Her 1999 visit to Skaneateles, near Syracuse, for an overnight stay with a
typical family probably would not pass muster because hospitality is only
supposed to come from legitimate "friends" and the Clintons didn't
know the McDonald family.
* She couldn't accept two coffee tables and two chairs from Denise Rich, worth $7,375, because the Riches have a lot to gain from currying favor with one of New York's senators.
* She'll have to forget about accepting free lunches from casual acquaintances, lobbyists or anyone else with a cause to push or an ax to grind. Only small finger food, or meals from close friends, don't count toward the $100-a-year cap.
* She won't be able to receive honoraria for speeches she gives - although her husband is expected to start earning big money on the talk circuit.
* She's restricted in accepting gifts - but there are no such restrictions on her husband, so anyone could simply address a package to him. Likewise, he can accept any form of hospitality as long as it's not an obvious attempt to get in good with his now-powerful wife.
HENCH adds: These two scumbags will be looting the American sheeple for at least another 20 years.
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