Estranged wife of ex-Miss. congressman Pickering files lawsuit claiming he had affair

Wife of ex-US Rep. Pickering claims he had affair

JACKSON, Miss. — The estranged wife of former Republican U.S. Rep. Chip Pickering claims in a lawsuit filed this week that the Mississippi Republican had an affair that ruined their marriage and derailed his political career.

Leisha Pickering seeks unspecified damages in the alienation of affection lawsuit she filed against Elizabeth Creekmore Byrd of Jackson.

There was no immediate response from Creekmore Byrd or from Chip Pickering.

The Pickerings filed for divorce in June 2008, but the divorce is not complete.

The lawsuit says Chip Pickering and Creekmore Byrd were having an affair while Pickering was in Congress and living in a Christian facility for lawmakers on C Street near the U.S. Capitol. He retired from Congress in January and joined a lobbying firm.