I still think Lott’s resignation from the Senate was part of a deal made with the U S Attorney and the Justice Dept. to avoid prosecution in the Dickie Scruggs case. Dickie Scruggs and Trent Lott are brothers-in-law and I suspect co conspirators. But Lott being a favored Republican Senator was spared by the Bush Just-us Dept. Just a matter of knowing the right people.
What you say may be true, but there was another main issue in the background.
At that time, Bush and the GOP were wanting to stack the conference committee as a means of getting certain pieces of legislation thru Congress, but Lott refused to co-operate. Lott was more loyal to the Senate as an institution than he was to the GOP.
Keep in mind, when the controversy erupted, Lott was forced out as Majority leader(2002), but retained his senate seat for about another 5 years(2007)
He was replaced by Bill Frist who was willing to stack and the first legislation that Frist and Hastert stacked was the senior prescription drug benefit legislation. Then they tried to stack the immigration reform legislation in 2006, but Reid blocked them, forcing Bush and the GOP to abandon immigration reform.