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This morning, I passed along a report that at least six letters attacking cap-and-trade legislation sent to the office of Democratic Representative Tom Perriello were forgeries. All the letters were traced to two different organizations, Bonner and Associates, a D.C. lobbying firm, and Professional Risk Management Service, Inc., a medical malpractice insurer, both of which deny any official involvement in sending the letter.At least one letter, which was purported to come from a local Hispanic advocacy group, Creciendo Juntos, came from Bonner and Associates, a "grassroots" lobbying firm. The letter was revealed as a forgery when Bonner and Associates employees somehow discovered what happened, fired the employee, informed Perriello's office and apologized to Creciendo Juntos. Here is a statement from the firm's President, Jack Bonner, obtained by TPM Muckraker:
We take our business very seriously. A temporary employee--lied to us--and contrary to our policies sent these letters. We--no one else--we on our own found this out. We immediately fired the person. We then, called those effected, explained what happened and apologized. In the case of the group in the story--we did it in person and by letter.This should not have happened--we had a bad employee--but through our internal checks, we found the problem, and on our own initiative took the step to notify the affected group.Bonner's firm is not registered to lobby for any energy companies opposing global warming legislation, but interestingly enough, that's part of their business model. This press clip from National Journal, trumpeted on their website, explains how the firm avoids such disclosures as part of its grassroots (though critics would say "astroturf") lobbying practice:
