In news that can only be good for his lobbying firm's bottom line, former Mississippi Republican Sen. Trent Lott's one-year ban on lobbying his former colleagues has expired. "I'm legal!" the former Majority Leader was overheard announcing gleefully to former colleagues on the Hill, Roll Call reported. (subscription required)

Under old lobbying rules, Lott (who resigned in December 2007) was barred from lobbying senators for one year. Under new lobbying rules, which began Jan. 1, 2008, senators who leave the Hill for downtown are barred from lobbying their colleagues for two years.

Lott's firm, Breaux Lott Leadership Group, co-founded with former Sen. John Breaux, D-La., has been raking in the dough. For the first nine months of 2008, the firm posted $5.67 million in lobbying fees, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

                                                                                                                     --Bara Vaida