Chester Trent Lott Sr. (born October 9, 1941 in
Grenada, MississippiGrenada is a city in Grenada County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 14,879 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Grenada County.-History:...
) is a former United States Senator from
MississippiMississippi is a state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The state's name comes from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, and takes its name from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi . The state is heavily forested outside of the...
. He has served in numerous leadership positions in both the
House of RepresentativesThe United States House of Representatives, commonly referred to as the "House," is the lower house of the bicameral United States Congress, the upper house being the United States Senate. The composition and powers of the House and the Senate are established in Article One of the Constitution...
and the Senate, including
House Minority WhipA whip in the United States House of Representatives manages their party's legislative program on the House floor. The Whip keeps track of all legislation and ensures that all party members are present when important measures are to be voted upon....
,
Senate Majority LeaderThe Senate Majority and Minority Leaders are two United States Senators who are elected by the party conferences that hold the majority and the minority respectively. These leaders serve as the chief Senate spokesmen for their parties and manage and schedule the legislative and executive business...
,
Senate Minority LeaderThe Senate Majority and Minority Leaders are two United States Senators who are elected by the party conferences that hold the majority and the minority respectively. These leaders serve as the chief Senate spokesmen for their parties and manage and schedule the legislative and executive business...
, and
Senate Minority WhipThe Assistant Majority and Minority Leaders of the United States Senate are the second-ranking members of their parties in the United States Senate....
.
On December 20, 2002, after significant controversy following what were viewed as racist comments regarding
Strom ThurmondJames Strom Thurmond was an American politician who served as governor of South Carolina and as a United States Senator. He also ran for the Presidency of the United States in 1948 as the segregationist States Rights Democratic Party candidate, receiving 2.4% of the popular vote and 39 electoral...
's presidential candidacy, Lott resigned as Senate Majority Leader in the Senate. In December 2007, he resigned from the Senate entirely and became a Washington-based lobbyist. Lott's resignation from the Senate came just two days before the federal indictment of his brother-in-law, trial lawyer
Richard ScruggsRichard F. "Dickie" Scruggs is a former A6A naval aviator, a prominent trial lawyer, one of the richest men in Mississippi, and the brother-in-law of former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott. Scruggs first came to the public eye after successfully suing the asbestos industry on behalf of ill...
. Scruggs eventually pleaded guilty to conspiring to
bribeBribery, a form of pecuniary corruption, is an act implying money or gift given that alters the behavior of the recipient. Bribery constitutes a crime and is defined by Black's Law Dictionary as the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an...
a Mississippi judge by promising him a federal judgeship appointment using his influence over his brother-in-law. Lott ruled out any health concerns affecting his resignation. At a press conference on December 31, 2007, Mississippi Governor
Haley BarbourHaley Reeves Barbour is an American politician currently serving as the Governor of Mississippi. He gained a national spotlight in August 2005 after Mississippi was hit by Hurricane Katrina. Barbour won re-election as Governor in 2007...
appointed
Roger WickerRoger Frederick Wicker is an American politician from the state of Mississippi. A Republican, he has been Mississippi's junior U.S. Senator since December 2007...
to fill temporarily the Senate seat vacated by Lott. On November 4, 2008, a special election Senate race was held to replace him. He was succeeded in office by Republican
Roger WickerRoger Frederick Wicker is an American politician from the state of Mississippi. A Republican, he has been Mississippi's junior U.S. Senator since December 2007...
.
Early life
Lott was born in
Grenada, MississippiGrenada is a city in Grenada County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 14,879 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Grenada County.-History:...
. His father, Chester Paul Lott, was a
shipyardShipyards and dockyards are places which repair and build ships. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance and basing activities than shipyards, which are sometimes associated more with initial...
worker; his mother, Iona Watson, was a
schoolteacherIn education, a teacher is a person who educates others. A teacher who educates an individual student may also be described as a personal tutor....
. He attended college at the
University of MississippiThe University of Mississippi, also known as Ole Miss, is a public, coeducational research university located in Oxford, Mississippi. Founded in 1848, the school is composed of the main campus in Oxford and three branch campuses located in Booneville, Tupelo, and Southaven...
in
OxfordOxford is a city and the county seat of Lafayette County, Mississippi, United States. Founded in 1835, it was named after the British university city of Oxford in hopes of having the state university located there, which it did successfully attract....
, where he obtained an undergraduate degree in public administration in 1963 and a
law degreeJuris Doctor is a first professional degree.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century as a degree similar to the old European doctor of law degree...
in 1967. He served as a Field Representative for Ole Miss and was president of his
fraternityFraternities and sororities are fraternal social organizations for undergraduate students. In English, the term refers mainly to such organizations at colleges and universities in North America, although it is also applied to analogous European groups also known as corporations...
,
Sigma NuSigma Nu is an undergraduate social college fraternity with chapters in the United States and Canada. Sigma Nu was founded in 1869 by three cadets at the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia...
. Lott was also an Ole Miss cheerleader, coincidentally on the same team with U.S. Senator
Thad CochranWilliam Thad Cochran is the senior United States Senator from Mississippi, and is a member of the Republican Party.-Early life:...
. He married Patricia Thompson on December 27, 1964. The couple has two children: Chester Trent "Chet" Lott, Jr., and Tyler Lott.
House of Representatives
Lott was raised as a
DemocratThe Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. It is the oldest political party in continuous operation in the United States and it is one of the oldest parties in the world. In the U.S...
. He served as administrative assistant to House Rules Committee chairman
William M. ColmerWilliam Meyers Colmer was a Mississippi politician.Colmer was born in Moss Point, Mississippi, and attended Millsaps College...
, also of
PascagoulaPascagoula is a city in Jackson County, Mississippi, United States. It is the principal city of the Pascagoula, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area, as a part of the Gulfport–Biloxi–Pascagoula, Mississippi Combined Statistical Area. The population was 26,200 at the 2000 census...
, from 1968 to 1972.
In 1972, Colmer, one of the most conservative Democrats in the House, announced his retirement after 40 years in Congress. He endorsed Lott as his successor in Mississippi's
5th DistrictMississippi's fifth congressional district existed from 1855 to 2003. The state was granted a fifth representative following the 1850 census.From 1853 to 1855, the fifth representative was elected at-large instead of by district...
, located in the state's southwestern tip, even though Lott ran as a Republican. Lott won handily.
Lott's party switch was part of a growing trend in the South. During the 1960s, cracks had begun to appear in the Democrats' "
Solid SouthSolid South refers to the electoral support of the Southern United States for the Democratic Party candidates for nearly a century from 1877, the end of the Reconstruction, to 1964, during the middle of the Civil Rights era....
", as many whites, motivated in part by the national
Democratic PartyThe Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. It is the oldest political party in continuous operation in the United States and it is one of the oldest parties in the world. In the U.S...
's stance on
African AmericanAfrican Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa. In the United States, the terms are generally used for Americans with at least partial Sub-Saharan African ancestry...
civil rightsCivil and political rights are a class of rights and freedoms that protect individuals from unwarranted government action and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression....
, began to switch parties. For example, 1964
RepublicanThe Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the Grand Old Party or the GOP, despite being the younger of the two major parties. In the U.S...
nominee
Barry GoldwaterBarry Morris Goldwater was a five-term United States Senator from Arizona and the Republican Party's nominee for President in the 1964 election. He was also a Major General in the U.S. Air Force Reserve. He was known as "Mr...
carried Mississippi by winning an unheard-of 87 percent of the popular vote even as he was routed nationally.
Lott and his future Senate colleague,
Thad CochranWilliam Thad Cochran is the senior United States Senator from Mississippi, and is a member of the Republican Party.-Early life:...
(also elected to Congress that year), were only the second and third Republicans elected to Congress from Mississippi since Reconstruction. Lott's strong showing in the polls landed him on the powerful House Judiciary Committee as a freshman, where he voted against all three articles of impeachment drawn up against
Richard NixonRichard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States and is the only president to resign the office. He was also the 36th Vice President of the United States ....
during the committee's debate. After Nixon released the infamous "Smoking Gun" transcripts (which proved Nixon's involvement in the Watergate cover-up), however, Lott announced that he would vote to impeach Nixon when the articles came up for debate before the full House (as did the other Republicans who voted against impeachment in committee).
Three months later, in November 1974, Lott and Cochran became the first Republicans re-elected to Congress from Mississippi since Reconstruction, in both cases by blowout margins. Lott was re-elected six more times without much difficulty, and even ran unopposed in 1978. He served as
House Minority WhipA whip in the United States House of Representatives manages their party's legislative program on the House floor. The Whip keeps track of all legislation and ensures that all party members are present when important measures are to be voted upon....
(the second-ranking Republican in the House) from 1981 to 1989; he was the first Southern Republican to hold such a high leadership position.
United States Senate
Lott ran for the Senate in 1988, after 42-year incumbent John Stennis announced he would not run for another term. He defeated Democratic
4th DistrictMississippi's Fourth Congressional District covers the southeastern region of the state. The People of the Fourth District are currently represented by Democrat Gene Taylor of Bay St. Louis. Along with Texas's 17th congressional district, it is the most Republican district in the nation to be...
Congressman
Wayne DowdyCharles Wayne Dowdy is a former United States Congressman from Mississippi, United States Senate candidate and currently chairman of the Mississippi Democratic Party.-Early life:Dowdy was born in Fitzgerald, Ben Hill County, Georgia....
by almost eight points. He has never faced another contest nearly that close. He was re-elected in 1994, 2000, and 2006 with no substantive Democratic opposition. He gave some thought to retirement for much of 2005, however, after
Hurricane KatrinaHurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was the costliest hurricane, as well as one of the five deadliest, in the history of the United States...
, he announced on January 17, 2006 that he would run for a fourth term.
He became
Senate Majority WhipThe Assistant Majority and Minority Leaders of the United States Senate are the second-ranking members of their parties in the United States Senate....
when the Republicans took control of the Senate in 1995, succeeding as
Majority LeaderThe Senate Majority and Minority Leaders are two United States Senators who are elected by the party conferences that hold the majority and the minority respectively. These leaders serve as the chief Senate spokesmen for their parties and manage and schedule the legislative and executive business...
in 1996 when
Bob DoleRobert Joseph "Bob" Dole is an attorney and retired United States Senator from Kansas from 1969–1996, serving part of that time as United States Senate Majority Leader, where he set a record as the longest-serving Republican leader. He was his party's 1996 presidential nominee but lost the...
resigned from the Senate to focus on his presidential campaign. As majority leader, Lott had a major role in the Senate trial following the
impeachmentBill Clinton, President of the United States, was impeached by the House of Representatives on December 19, 1998, and acquitted by the Senate on February 12, 1999. The charges, perjury, obstruction of justice, and abuse of power arose from the Monica Lewinsky scandal and the Paula Jones lawsuit...
of President
Bill ClintonWilliam Jefferson "Bill" Clinton was the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He was the third-youngest president; only Theodore Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy were younger when entering office...
. After the House narrowly voted to impeach Clinton, Lott proceeded with the Senate trial in early 1999, despite criticisms that Republicans were far short of the two-thirds majority required under the
ConstitutionThe Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme law of the United States. It is the foundation and source of the legal authority underlying the existence of the United States of America and the federal government of the United States...
to convict Clinton and remove him from office. He later agreed to a decision to suspend the proceedings after the Senate voted not to convict Clinton.
After the 2000 elections produced a 50-50 partisan split in the Senate,
Vice PresidentThe Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people through the Electoral College to a four-year term...
Al GoreAlbert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. is an American environmental activist and former politician who served as the 45th Vice President of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He is an author, businessperson, former U.S. Senator and former journalist...
's tie-breaking vote gave the Democrats the majority from January 3 to January 20, 2001, when
George W. BushGeorge Walker Bush was the 43rd President of the United States from 2001 to 2009 and the 46th Governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000....
took office and Vice President
Dick CheneyRichard Bruce "Dick" Cheney served as the 46th Vice President of the United States from 2001 to 2009 in the administration of George W. Bush....
's tie-breaking vote gave the Republicans the majority once again. Later in 2001, he became
Senate Minority LeaderThe Senate Majority and Minority Leaders are two United States Senators who are elected by the party conferences that hold the majority and the minority respectively. These leaders serve as the chief Senate spokesmen for their parties and manage and schedule the legislative and executive business...
again after Vermont senator
Jim JeffordsJames Merrill "Jim" Jeffords is a former U.S. Senator from Vermont. He served as a Republican until 2001, when he left the party to become an independent.-Background:...
became an independent and caucused with the Democrats, allowing them to regain the majority. He was due to become majority leader again in early 2003 after Republican gains in the November 2002 elections. Shortly after the
Strom ThurmondJames Strom Thurmond was an American politician who served as governor of South Carolina and as a United States Senator. He also ran for the Presidency of the United States in 1948 as the segregationist States Rights Democratic Party candidate, receiving 2.4% of the popular vote and 39 electoral...
controversy, however (see below), he
resignA resignation is the formal act of giving up or quitting one's office or position. It can also refer to the act of admitting defeat in a game like chess, indicated by the resigning player declaring "I resign", turning his king on its side, extending his hand, or stopping the chess clock...
ed from his leadership positions.
Since he lost the Majority Leader post, Lott was less visible on the national scene while breaking with some standard conservative positions. He battled with Bush over military base closures in his home state. He showed support for passenger rail initiatives, notably his 2006 bipartisan introduction, with Sen.
Frank LautenbergFrank Raleigh Lautenberg is an American businessman and Democratic Party politician. Now the senior United States Senator from New Jersey, he is in his fifth non-consecutive term in office, first serving from 1982 to 2001, and again since 2003.He is the only current Senator to have returned to...
of
New JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered on the north by New York, and to the east by the Hudson River, Upper New York Bay, the Kill Van Kull, Newark Bay, the Arthur Kill, Raritan Bay, Sandy Hook Bay, Westchester County, New York City, Long Island, and...
, of legislation to provide 80 percent federal matching grants to intercity rail and guarantee adequate funding for
AmtrakThe National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971 to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a blend of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union Station...
. On July 18, 2006, Lott voted with 19 Republican senators for the
Stem Cell Research Enhancement ActStem Cell Research Enhancement Act was the name of two similar bills that both passed through the United States House of Representatives and Senate, but were both vetoed by President George W. Bush and were not enacted into law...
to lift restrictions on federal funding for the research. On November 15, 2006 Lott regained a leadership position in the Senate, when he was named Minority Whip after defeating
Lamar AlexanderAndrew Lamar Alexander is the senior United States Senator from Tennessee and Conference Chair of the Republican Party. He was previously the 45th Governor of Tennessee from 1979 to 1987, U.S. Secretary of Education from 1991 to 1993 under President George H. W...
of
TennesseeTennessee is a state located in the Southeastern United States. According to the 2008 census, it has a population of 6,214,888, an increase of nearly 9.5% since 2000. Tennessee is the 14th fastest growing state in the US and is ranked 17th by population. It is ranked 36th by total land area. In...
24-23.
Senator
John E. SununuJohn Edward Sununu is a former Republican United States Senator from New Hampshire. Sununu was the youngest member of the Senate for his entire six year term. He was also its only Arab-American member during his time in office. He is the son of former New Hampshire Governor John H...
(R) of
New HampshireNew Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian province of...
said, after Lott's election as Senate Minority Whip, "He understands the rules. He's a strong negotiator." Former House Speaker
Newt GingrichNewton Leroy "Newt" Gingrich is an American politician who served as the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999. In 1995, Time magazine selected him as the Person of the Year for his role in leading the Republican Revolution in the House, ending 40 years of the...
(R) said he's "the smartest legislative politician I've ever met."
2006 re-election campaign
Lott faced no Republican opposition in the race. State representative Erik R. Fleming placed first of four candidates in the June Democratic primary, but did not receive the 50 percent of the vote required to earn the party's nomination. He and second-place finisher Bill Bowlin faced off in a runoff on June 27, and Fleming won with 65% of the vote. Fleming, however, was not regarded as a serious opponent, and Lott handily defeated him with 64% of the vote.
Resignation
On November 26, 2007, Lott announced that he would resign his Senate seat by the end of 2007. According to CNN, his resignation was at least partly due to the
Honest Leadership and Open Government ActThe Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 is a law of the United States federal government that amended parts of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995...
, which forbids lawmakers from lobbying for two years after leaving office. Those who leave by the end of 2007 are covered by the previous law, which demands a wait of only one year. In his resignation press conference, Lott said that the new law had no influence in his decision to resign.
Lott's resignation became effective at 11:30 p.m. on December 18, 2007.
On January 7, 2008 it was announced that Lott and former Senator
John BreauxJohn Berlinger Breaux is a former United States senator from Louisiana who served from 1987 until 2005. He was also a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1972 to 1987. He was considered one of the more Conservative national legislators from the Democratic Party...
of
LouisianaThe State of Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state divided into parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, a Democrat, opened their lobbying firm about a block from the White House.
Comments regarding homosexuality
In 1998, Lott caused some controversy in Congress when as a guest on the
Armstrong WilliamsArmstrong Williams is an American political commentator who writes a conservative newspaper column, hosts a nationally syndicated TV program called The Right Side, and hosts a daily radio show from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. and from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. From 2004 to 2007, he co-hosted a daily radio program...
television show, he equated
homosexualityHomosexuality is the romantic or sexual attraction or behavior among members of the same sex, situationally or as an enduring disposition. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is considered to lie within the heterosexual-homosexual continuum of human sexuality, and refers to an individual’s...
to
alcoholismAlcoholism is a term with multiple and sometimes conflicting definitions. In common and historic usage, alcoholism is any condition that results in the continued consumption of alcoholic beverages, despite health problems and negative social consequences...
,
kleptomaniaKleptomania is the condition of not being able to resist the urge to collect or hoard things. People with this disorder are compelled to steal things, generally objects of little or no significant value, such as pens, paper clips, tape, traffic cones, signs, and small toys...
and sex addiction. When Williams, a conservative talk show host, asked Lott whether homosexuality was a
sinSin is a term used mainly in a religious context to describe an act that violates a moral rule, or the state of having committed such a violation. Commonly, the moral code of conduct is decreed by a divine entity, i.e...
, Lott simply replied, "Yes, it is." Lott's stance against homosexuality was disconcerting to some members of the public, who argued that his views were discriminatory.
Resignation from Senate leadership
Tremendous political controversy ensued following remarks Lott made on December 5, 2002 at the 100th birthday party of Sen.
Strom ThurmondJames Strom Thurmond was an American politician who served as governor of South Carolina and as a United States Senator. He also ran for the Presidency of the United States in 1948 as the segregationist States Rights Democratic Party candidate, receiving 2.4% of the popular vote and 39 electoral...
of South Carolina. Thurmond ran for
President of the United StatesThe President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in the United States by influence and recognition...
in 1948 on the
DixiecratThe States' Rights Democratic Party was a segregationist, socially conservative political party in the United States. The term Dixiecrat is a portmanteau of Dixie, referring to the Southern United States, and Democrat, referring to the United States Democratic Party...
(or States' Rights) ticket. Lott said: "When Strom Thurmond ran for president, we voted for him. We’re proud of it. And if the rest of the country had followed our lead, we wouldn't have had all these problems over the years, either."
Thurmond had based his presidential campaign largely on an explicit
racial segregationRacial segregation is the separation of different racial groups in daily life, such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a washroom, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home. Segregation may be mandated by law or exist through social...
platform. Lott had attracted controversy before in issues relating to civil rights. As a Congressman, he voted against renewal of the
Voting Rights ActThe National Voting Rights Act of 1965 outlawed discriminatory voting practices that had been responsible for the widespread disenfranchisement of African Americans in the United States. Echoing the language of the 15th Amendment, the Act prohibited states from imposing any "voting qualification...
, voted against the continuation of the
Civil Rights ActThe Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a landmark piece of legislation in the United States that outlawed racial segregation in schools, public places, and employment...
and opposed making Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday a federal holiday.
The Washington PostThe Washington Post is the newspaper with the largest circulation in Washington, D.C. and is the city's oldest paper, founded in 1877. Being located in the nation's capital, it has a particular emphasis on national politics and international affairs...
reported that Lott had made similar comments about Thurmond's candidacy in a 1980 rally. Lott gave an interview with
Black Entertainment TelevisionBlack Entertainment Television is an American cable network based in Washington D.C., and targets young African-American audiences in the United States. Robert L. Johnson founded the network in 1980...
explaining himself and repudiating Thurmond's former views.
Lott resigned as Senate Republican Leader on December 20, 2002.
Bill FristWilliam Harrison "Bill" Frist, Sr. is an American physician, businessman, and politician. Frist served two terms as a United States Senator representing Tennessee where he became the Republican Majority Leader from 2003 until his retirement in 2007...
of
TennesseeTennessee is a state located in the Southeastern United States. According to the 2008 census, it has a population of 6,214,888, an increase of nearly 9.5% since 2000. Tennessee is the 14th fastest growing state in the US and is ranked 17th by population. It is ranked 36th by total land area. In...
was later elected to the leadership position. In the book
Free Culturethumb|200px| The book coverFree Culture: How Big Media Uses Technology and the Law to Lock Down Culture and Control Creativity is a book by law professor Lawrence Lessig that was released on the Internet under the Creative Commons Attribution/Non-commercial license on March 25,...
,
Lawrence LessigLawrence "Larry" Lessig is an American academic and political activist. He is best known as a proponent of reduced legal restrictions on copyright, trademark, and radio frequency spectrum, particularly in technology applications....
argues that Lott's resignation would not have occurred had it not been for the effect of Internet
blogA blog is a type of website, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order...
s. He says that though the story "disappear[ed] from the mainstream press within forty-eight hours", "bloggers kept researching the story" until, "[f]inally, the story broke back into the mainstream press."
Richard Scruggs
On November 29, 2007,
The New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded in 1851 and published in New York City. The largest metropolitan newspaper in the United States, "The Gray Lady"—named for its staid appearance and style—is regarded as a national newspaper of record...
noted that Lott's brother-in-law,
Richard ScruggsRichard F. "Dickie" Scruggs is a former A6A naval aviator, a prominent trial lawyer, one of the richest men in Mississippi, and the brother-in-law of former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott. Scruggs first came to the public eye after successfully suing the asbestos industry on behalf of ill...
, was indicted on charges of offering a $40,000 bribe to a
MississippiMississippi is a state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The state's name comes from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, and takes its name from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi . The state is heavily forested outside of the...
state judge in a fee dispute. Scruggs represented Lott and Rep. Gene Taylor in settlements with
State Farm InsuranceState Farm Insurance is a group of insurance and financial services companies. State Farm has remained the largest automobile insurer in the United States continuously since 1942 and insures more cars and homes in the United States than any other insurer....
company after the insurer refused to pay claims for the loss of their Mississippi homes in
Hurricane KatrinaHurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was the costliest hurricane, as well as one of the five deadliest, in the history of the United States...
. Lott and Taylor had pushed through federal legislation to investigate claims handling of
State FarmState farm can refer to:*Sovkhoz, a type of state-owned farm in the Soviet Union*Volkseigenes Gut, a type of state-owned farm in East Germany*Państwowe Gospodarstwo Rolne, a type of state-owned farm in People's Republic of Poland...
and other insurers after Hurricane Katrina, a potential
conflict of interestA conflict of interest occurs when an individual or organization is involved in multiple interests, one of which could possibly corrupt the motivation for an act in the other.A conflict of interest can only existif a person or testimony...
. On July 30, 2008, the Associated Press reported that during a deposition related to the Hurricane Katrina claims, Zach Scruggs, son of Richard Scruggs, was asked by State Farm Fire & Casulty Cos. attorney Jim Robie, "Has it been your custom and habit in prosecuting litigation to have Senator Lott contact and encourage witnesses to give false information?" Zach Scruggs responded, "I invoke my
Fifth AmendmentThe Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which is part of the Bill of Rights, protects against abuse of government authority in a legal procedure. Its guarantees stem from English common law which traces back to the Magna Carta in 1215...
rights in response to that question." On February 14, 2009,
The New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded in 1851 and published in New York City. The largest metropolitan newspaper in the United States, "The Gray Lady"—named for its staid appearance and style—is regarded as a national newspaper of record...
noted in relation to an indictment of Judge
Bobby DeLaughterRobert "Bobby" DeLaughter is a Mississippi prosecutor, judge, and author. He prosecuted and secured the conviction of Byron De La Beckwith for the murder of civil rights leader Medgar Evers. The Beckwith prosecution occurred in January 1994. Evers was assassinated by Beckwith on June 12, 1963...
for taking bribes from Scruggs that federal prosecutors have said that Lott was induced by Scruggs to offer DeLaughter a federal judgeship in order to gain the judge's favor.
Author
Lott wrote a memoir entitled
Herding Cats: A Life in PoliticsHerding Cats: A Life in Politics is a book written by U.S. Senator Trent Lott, a Republican from Mississippi. Published by HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. on August 23, 2005, the book spans 320 pages...
. In the book, Lott spoke out on the infamous Strom Thurmond birthday party gaffe, former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, and about his feelings of betrayal toward the Tennessee senator, claiming "If Frist had not announced exactly when he did, as the fire was about to burn out, I would still be majority leader of the Senate today." He also described former Democratic Leader
Tom DaschleThomas Andrew Daschle is a former U.S. Senator from South Dakota and former U.S. Senate Majority Leader. He is a member of the Democratic Party....
of
South DakotaSouth Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. South Dakota was carved out of the southern half of the Dakota Territory and admitted to the Union on November 2, 1889...
as trustworthy. He also reveals that President
George W. BushGeorge Walker Bush was the 43rd President of the United States from 2001 to 2009 and the 46th Governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000....
, then-Secretary of State
Colin PowellColin Luther Powell is an American statesman and a retired four-star general in the United States Army. He was the 65th United States Secretary of State , serving under President George W. Bush. He was the first African American appointed to that position...
, and other GOP leaders played a major role in ending his career as Senate Republican Leader.
External links
Articles
- Lott Decried for Part of Salute to Thurmond, The Washington Post, Saturday, December 7, 2002; Page A06.
- Sen. Lott Fights to Save Post as Leader, The Washington Post, Saturday, December 14, 2002; Page A01
- Lott Remarks on Thurmond Echoed 1980 Words, The Washington Post, Wednesday, December 11, 2002; Page A06
- Sen. Lott's New Spin The Washington Post, Saturday, December 14, 2002; Page A24
- Talking Points Memo, a political weblog, has posted Lott's racially-inflected Fall 1984 interview with the Southern Partisan and discusses his long-standing association with a paleoconservative group, the Council of Conservative Citizens
- Rock Steady Candid commentary about his career in Interview with Perry Hicks for GulfCoastNews.com
- Joe Conason's Journal: Lott's involvement with the neo-Confederate movement, racists and extreme rightists goes way back, Salon.com, December 12, 2002.
- Bloggers Catch What Washington Post Missed, The Guardian (UK), Saturday, December 21, 2002.
- Katrina Weighs on Lott’s Decision-Making, Roll Call
Roll Call is a newspaper published in Washington, D.C., United States. It is published Monday to Thursday when the United States Congress is in session and Mondays only during recess. It provides its readers with news of the legislative and political maneuvers that happen on Capitol Hill. In...
, September 15, 2005 (subscription required).
- Lott to run again for Senate, CNN, Wednesday, January 18, 2006.
- Harper's Magazine article - A Minor Injustice: Why Paul Minor?