Chester Trent Lott, Sr. (born October 9, 1941), is a former United States Senator from
MississippiMississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
and has served in numerous leadership positions in the House of Representatives and the Senate.
He entered Congress as one of the first of a wave of Republicans winning seats in Southern states that had been solidly Democratic for a century, rose to the position of Senate majority leader, then fell from power after praising Strom Thurmond's 1948 segregationist Dixiecrat presidential bid.
Lott entered Congress in 1968 as an administrative assistant to Representative
William M. ColmerWilliam Meyers Colmer was a Mississippi politician.Colmer was born in Moss Point, Mississippi, and attended Millsaps College...
of Mississippi, who was also House Rules Committee Chairman. After Colmer retired, Lott won Colmer's former seat in the House of Representatives. In 1988, Lott ran for Senate to replace another retiree, Senator John Stennis and won. After Republicans took the majority in the Senate, Lott became Senate Majority Whip in 1995 and then Senate Majority Leader in 1996.
On December 20, 2002, after significant controversy following comments regarding
Strom ThurmondJames Strom Thurmond was an American politician who served 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 votes...
's presidential candidacy, Lott resigned as Senate Minority Leader. In December 2007, he resigned from the Senate and became a Washington-based lobbyist. Republican
Roger WickerRoger Frederick Wicker is the junior U.S. Senator from Mississippi and a member of the Republican Party. In December 2007 he was appointed by Governor Haley Barbour to fill the seat vacated by Trent Lott. He subsequently won the 2008 special election for the remainder of the term. Wicker served...
won the
2008 special electionThe 2008 United States Senate special election in Mississippi was held on November 4, 2008. This election is held on the same day of Thad Cochran's re-election bid in the United States Senate election in Mississippi, 2008. The rules of this special election is that the winner will serve rest of...
to replace him.
Lott serves as a Senior Fellow at the
Bipartisan Policy CenterThe is a non-profit organization that "drives principled solutions through rigorous analysis, reasoned negotiation, and respectful dialogue." Founded in 2007 by former Senate Majority Leaders Howard Baker, Tom Daschle, Bob Dole, and George Mitchell, "BPC combines politically-balanced policymaking...
(BPC), where he focuses on issues related to energy, national security, transportation and congressional reforms. Lott is also a co-chair of BPC's Energy Project.
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
schoolteacherA teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
. 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 1844, the school is composed of the main campus in Oxford, four branch campuses located in Booneville, Grenada, Tupelo, and Southaven as well as the...
in
OxfordOxford is a city in, 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 professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
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 Latin, the term refers mainly to such organizations at colleges and universities in the United States, although it is also applied to analogous European groups also known as corporations...
,
Sigma NuSigma Nu is an undergraduate, college fraternity with chapters in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Sigma Nu was founded in 1869 by three cadets at the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia...
. Lott was also an Ole Miss cheerleader, on the same team with future U.S. Senator
Thad CochranWilliam Thad Cochran is the senior United States Senator from Mississippi and a member of the Republican Party. First elected to the Senate in 1978, he is the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Appropriations and was its chairman and 2005 to 2007.-Early life:He was born in Pontotoc,...
. He married Patricia Thompson on December 27, 1964. The couple has two children: Chester Trent "Chet" Lott, Jr., and Tyler Lott.
House of Representatives
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 5th 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, in large part due to
Richard NixonRichard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
's landslide victory in that year's presidential election. Nixon won several counties in the 5th by over 80 percent of the vote, en route to taking 78 percent of Mississippi's popular vote.
Lott and his future Senate colleague, Thad Cochran (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 Nixon 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).
Lott became very popular in his district, even though almost none of its living residents had been represented by a Republican before. As evidence, in November 1974, Lott won a second term in a blowout. Cochran was also reelected in a rout; he and Lott were the first Republicans to win a second term in Congress from the state since Reconstruction. They were among the few bright spots in a year that saw many Republicans turned out of office due to anger over Watergate. Lott was re-elected six more times without much difficulty, and even ran unopposed in 1978. In
1980The United States presidential election of 1980 featured a contest between incumbent Democrat Jimmy Carter and his Republican opponent, Ronald Reagan, as well as Republican Congressman John B. Anderson, who ran as an independent...
, he served as
Ronald ReaganRonald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
's Mississippi state chairman. He served as
House Minority WhipA whip in the United States House of Representatives manages his 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 4th congressional district covers the southeastern region of the state. The people of the Mississippi's 4th are currently represented by Republican Steven Palazzo. During the 111th Congress, MS-4, along with TX-17, was the most Republican district in the nation to be represented by a...
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 a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
, 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 the party leadership of 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 spokespeople for their parties and manage and schedule the legislative and executive...
in 1996 when
Bob DoleRobert Joseph "Bob" Dole is an American attorney and politician. Dole represented Kansas in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1996, was Gerald Ford's Vice Presidential running mate in the 1976 presidential election, and was Senate Majority Leader from 1985 to 1987 and in 1995 and 1996...
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 charges of perjury and obstruction of justice on December 19, 1998, but acquitted by the Senate on February 12, 1999. Two other impeachment articles, a second perjury charge and a charge of abuse of...
of President
Bill ClintonWilliam Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
. 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 is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...
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.
Lott generally pursued a conservative position in politics and was a noted social conservative. For instance, in 1998, Lott caused some controversy in Congress when as a guest on the
Armstrong WilliamsArmstrong Williams is an African American political commentator, author of a conservative newspaper column, and host of a daily radio show and a nationally syndicated TV program, called The Right Side with Armstrong Williams. From 2004 to 2007, he co-hosted a daily radio program with Sam...
television show, he equated
homosexualityHomosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
to
alcoholismAlcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
,
kleptomaniaKleptomania is an irresistible urge to steal items of trivial value. People with this disorder are compelled to steal things, generally, but not limited to, objects of little or no significant value, such as pens, paper clips, paper and tape...
and sex addiction. When Williams, a conservative talk show host, asked Lott whether homosexuality was a
sinIn religion, sin is the violation or deviation of an eternal divine law or standard. The term sin may also refer to the state of having committed such a violation. Christians believe the moral code of conduct is decreed by God In religion, sin (also called peccancy) is the violation or deviation...
, Lott simply replied, "Yes, it is." Lott's stance against homosexuality was disconcerting to many Americans, and various media outlets questioned his discriminatory views.
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. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
's tie-breaking vote gave the Democrats the majority from January 3 to January 20, 2001, when
George W. BushGeorge Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
took office and Vice President
Dick CheneyRichard Bruce "Dick" Cheney served as the 46th Vice President of the United States , under 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 spokespeople for their parties and manage and schedule the legislative and executive...
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. He retired from the Senate in 2006.-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.
Resignation from Senate leadership
Trent Lott spoke on December 5, 2002 at the 100th birthday party of Sen.
Strom ThurmondJames Strom Thurmond was an American politician who served 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 votes...
of South Carolina, a long time conservative leader. Thurmond had run for
President of the United StatesThe President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
in 1948 on the
DixiecratThe States' Rights Democratic Party was a short-lived segregationist political party in the United States in 1948...
(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 States Rights platform that challenged the
Civil Rights MovementThe civil rights movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. In many situations it took the form of campaigns of civil resistance aimed at achieving change by nonviolent forms of resistance. In some situations it was...
and later, the
Civil Rights ActCivil Rights Act may refer to several acts in the history of civil rights in the United States, including:-Federal legislation:* Civil Rights Act of 1866, extending the rights of emancipated slaves...
as illegally overturning the
Separation of powers under the United States ConstitutionSeparation of powers is a political doctrine originating from the United States Constitution, according to which the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of the United States government are kept distinct in order to prevent abuse of power. This U.S...
.
The Washington PostThe Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
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, Viacom-owned cable network based in Washington, D.C.. Currently viewed in more than 90 million homes worldwide, it is the most prominent television network targeting young Black-American audiences. The network was launched on January 25, 1980, by its...
explaining himself and repudiating Thurmond's former views.
In the wake of controversy, Lott resigned as Senate Republican Leader on December 20, 2002.
Bill FristWilliam Harrison "Bill" Frist, Sr. is an American physician, businessman, and politician. He began his career as an heir and major stockholder to the for-profit hospital chain of Hospital Corporation of America. Frist later served two terms as a Republican United States Senator representing...
of
TennesseeTennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
was later elected to the leadership position. In the book
Free CultureFree 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, 2004."There has never been a...
,
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, and he has called for state-based activism to promote substantive...
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 or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are 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...
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."
After losing the Majority Leader post, Lott was less visible on the national scene, although he did break 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 the senior United States Senator from New Jersey and a member of the Democratic Party. Previously, he was the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Automatic Data Processing, Inc.-Early life, career, and family:...
of
New JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, 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 portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
. 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, United States Secretary of Education from 1991 to 1993 under President George H. W...
of
TennesseeTennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
24-23.
Senator
John E. SununuJohn Edward Sununu is a former Republican United States Senator from New Hampshire, of Lebanese and Palestinian Christian ancestry. Sununu was the youngest member of the Senate for his entire six year term. 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 is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
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 a U.S. Republican Party politician who served as the House Minority Whip from 1989 to 1995 and as the 58th Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999....
(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. Fleming 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 had no influence on 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
LouisianaLouisiana 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 in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, a Democrat, opened their lobbying firm about a block from the White House.
Current work
Lott now works at the Breaux Lott Leadership Group, a "strategic advice, consulting, and lobbying" firm. He also serves on the board of directors of
EADSThe European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company N.V. is a global pan-European aerospace and defence corporation and a leading defence and military contractor worldwide...
North America.
On October 10, 2008, Lott was named Honorary Patron of the University Philosophical Society,
Trinity College, DublinTrinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
.
Lott is a 3rd Degree Freemason and holds the Grand Cross in The Southern Masonic Jurisdiction.
Richard Scruggs controversy
On November 29, 2007,
The New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
noted that Lott's brother-in-law,
Richard ScruggsRichard F. "Dickie" Scruggs is an American 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...
, was indicted on charges of offering a $40,000 bribe to a
MississippiMississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
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 in the United States. The company also has operations in Canada....
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 a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
. 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....
. 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 & Casualty 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 and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
noted in relation to an indictment of Judge
Bobby DeLaughterRobert "Bobby" DeLaughter is an American Mississippi state prosecutor, judge, and author. He is notable for prosecuting and securing the conviction in 1994 of Byron De La Beckwith, charged with the murder of the civil rights leader Medgar Evers 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. The RichardScruggs controversy was the subject of the 2009 book
Kings of Tort in 2009 by Alan Lange, and the 2010 book
The Fall of the House of Zeus: The Rise and Ruin of America's Most Powerful Trial Lawyer.
Author
Lott's 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...
, was published in 2005. 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 "Tom" 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. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
as trustworthy. He also reveals that President
George W. BushGeorge Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served 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 from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African American to serve in that position. During his military...
, and other GOP leaders played a major role in ending his career as Senate Republican Leader.
Further reading
- Lott, Trent. Herding Cats: A Life in Politics (Regan Books: 2005) ISBN 0-06-059931-6
- Orey, Byron D'Andra. "Racial Threat, Republicanism, and the Rebel Flag: Trent Lott and the 2006 Mississippi Senate Race," National Political Science Review July 2009, Vol. 12, pp. 83–96
External links
- Profile at SourceWatch
SourceWatch is an internet wiki site that is a collaborative project of the liberal Center for Media and Democracy...
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, from Monday to Thursday when the United States Congress is in session and on Mondays only during recess. Roll Call reports news of legislative and political maneuverings on Capitol Hill, as well as political coverage of...
, 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?