WASHINGTON, DC  --  Mississippi Senator Trent Lott surprised everybody Monday by announcing he will leave a 35-year career in Congress just one year after he was re-elected into office.

The homophobic senator said he wants to spend more time with his family and to pursue other job opportunities, possibly teaching. He ruled out any health concerns, but he said it's time for a younger voice to represent Mississippi in the Senate.

Lott said the following about homosexuality in 1998, "It is [a sin]....You should try to show them a way to deal with that problem, just like alcohol...or sex addiction...or kleptomaniacs."

Rumors emerged soon after Lott's resignation that the real reason for the republican senator's resignation was a brewing sex scandal involving Lott and male escort Benjamin Nicholas. However, Nicholas denies these rumors on his web site:

"It looks like a Washington DC-based blog called BigHeadDC is making claim that there was (or, is) a working relationship between myself and Senator Trent Lott. There are falsely pieced-together quotes that serve no purpose other than to sensationalize a completely fabricated scoop.

"I will continue to offer a great sense of confidentiality to the people I see. I have not, nor have I ever seen or had contact with Senator Trent Lott. It's as simple as that. It never happened."

Hustler publisher Larry Flynt is insinuating that he knows some dirt about the Trent Lott case. Back in June, Flynt offered cash rewards for substantiated accounts of sexual liaisons with elected officials and Monday Flynt posted the following comment on his web site:

"Hustler magazine has received numerous inquiries regarding the involvement of Larry Flynt and Hustler in the resignation of Trent Lott. Senator Lott has been the target of an ongoing Hustler investigation for some time now, due to confidential information that we have received."

Last update: 11-27-2007 11:42