James P. Lucier (born c. 1934) is an American author and a former staff member of the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

Biography

Lucier graduated from

University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy The University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy was founded in 1877, and is one of two Society of Jesus, Jesuit high schools in the city of Detroit, Detroit, Michigan, the other being Loyola High School (Detroit, Michigan), Loyola High Sc ...

and earned a bachelor's degree in radio and television journalism from the

University of Detroit The University of Detroit Mercy is a private Catholic university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is sponsored by both the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and the Sisters of Mercy. The university was founded in 1877 and is the largest Catho ...

, where he co-founded the educational station

WDET WDET-FM (101.9 MHz) is a public radio station in Detroit, Michigan. It is owned by Wayne State University with its studios and transmitter in the Cass Corridor neighborhood. WDET broadcasts shows from National Public Radio, Public Radio In ...

, and a doctoral degree in English literature from the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

. After completing his doctorate, Lucier was associate editor of the ''

Richmond News Leader ''The Richmond News Leader'' was an afternoon daily newspaper published in Richmond, Virginia from 1888 to 1992. During much of its run, it was the largest newspaper source in Richmond, competing with the morning ''Richmond Times-Dispatch''. By ...

'', in Virginia; he caused controversy by writing critically of President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

shortly after his assassination. Also in 1963, he wrote for ''American Opinion'', the magazine of the right-wing

John Birch Society The John Birch Society (JBS) is an American right-wing political advocacy group. Founded in 1958, it is anti-communist, supports social conservatism, and is associated with ultraconservative, radical right, far-right, right-wing populist, and ...

, accusing African leaders of embracing socialism as "abundance without necessitating the earning of it". Lucier was a

staff member for 25 years. After working for South Carolina

Southern Democrat Southern Democrats are members of the U.S. Democratic Party who reside in the Southern United States. Before the American Civil War, Southern Democrats mostly believed in Jacksonian democracy. In the 19th century, they defended slavery in the ...

and later Republican Senator

Strom Thurmond James Strom Thurmond Sr. (December 5, 1902 – June 26, 2003) was an American politician who represented South Carolina in the United States Senate from 1954 to 2003. Before his 49 years as a senator, he served as the 103rd governor of South ...

, he joined the staff of North Carolina Republican Senator

Jesse Helms Jesse Alexander Helms Jr. (October 18, 1921 – July 4, 2008) was an American politician. A leader in the Conservatism in the United States, conservative movement, he served as a senator from North Carolina from 1973 to 2003. As chairman of the ...

, initially as coordinator of domestic legislative policy, then as chief legislative aide for foreign affairs. Lucier became minority staff director for the

Senate Foreign Relations Committee The United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is a standing committee of the U.S. Senate charged with leading foreign-policy legislation and debate in the Senate. It is generally responsible for authorizing and overseeing foreign a ...

when Helms became its ranking minority member in February 1987. A leader of the hard-line faction among Republican staffers, he was relieved of his position in a general shake-up by Helms in 1992, being replaced by James "Bud" Nance, a retired admiral and a friend of Helms. In 1972, Lucier established Capitol Information Services, which he worked for part-time at the beginning of his employment with Helms; in 1986, the ''

Charlotte Observer ''The Charlotte Observer'' is an American newspaper serving Charlotte, North Carolina, and its metro area. The Observer was founded in 1886. it has the second-largest circulation of any newspaper in the Carolinas. It is owned by Chatham Asset ...

'' raised questions about the ethics of a Senate aide running such a business. While working for Helms, Lucier and another aide to Helms, John Carbaugh, were criticized for profiting from private foundations they had set up with Helms, and were accused of meddling in foreign policy on Helms' behalf, particularly when both attended and attempted to influence the

Lancaster House talks The Lancaster House Agreement is an agreement signed on 21 December 1979 in Lancaster House, following the conclusion of a constitutional conference where different parties discussed the future of Zimbabwe Rhodesia, formerly known as Rhodesia ...

between Britain and

Rhodesia Rhodesia ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state, unrecognised state in Southern Africa that existed from 1965 to 1979. Rhodesia served as the ''de facto'' Succession of states, successor state to the ...

. Lucier subsequently became senior editor of the news weekly ''Insight'', and also served as chairman of the advisory commission for the Thomas Balch Library, as a member of the board of the James Monroe Museum, and as a senior fellow of the Monroe Foundation. In 2001, Lucier published ''The Political Writings of James Monroe'', one of a series on presidential writings commissioned by the publisher. For his work on the book, he was appointed one of six scholars in the Congressional Reading Room at the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

. In 2006, Lucier was appointed head of the Program on the Middle East and the Iran Information Center at the

Institute on Religion and Public Policy An institute is an organizational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes ca ...

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lucier, James P. 1930s births Living people Date of birth missing (living people) 20th-century American male writers American male non-fiction writers American political writers University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy alumni University of Detroit Mercy alumni Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies alumni