WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Fred Thompson took the first formal step toward a widely expected bid for the presidency, establishing a preliminary campaign committee on Friday. The “testing the waters” committee allows Thompson — a former Tennessee senator and actor best known for his film and television roles, including as a prosecutor on NBC’s “Law & Order” — to raise money, hire staff and gauge support without officially committing to a White House bid and without having to publicly disclose donations or expenditures. The “Friends of Fred Thompson” committee was incorporated in papers filed with the state in Nashville, Tenn. Thompson, 64, a Southern conservative with a right-leaning Senate record, would shake up an already unsettled race for the GOP nomination led by Rudy Giuliani, John McCain and Mitt Romney. Many conservatives have expressed dissatisfaction with the current field of 10 candidates. (Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APTV 06-01-07 1419EDT