This should be fun…
A congressional panel will hold a hearing Thursday into those forged letters urging lawmakers to oppose climate change legislation. The letters purported to come from minority, senior, and veterans’ groups, but in fact were sent by Bonner & Associates, a GOP-aligned astroturf lobbying firm, on behalf of a coal industry client.
The Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, which has been probing the letters under the chairmanship of Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA), announced the news. It added:
The hearing will feature some of the central figures in the controversy, including victims of the fraud.
No word yet on whether Jack Bonner himself will testify.
Bonner & Associates has blamed a temporary employee for the letters, which were sent on behalf of the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, a coal-industry lobby group. But as we’ve detailed, the firm’s modus operandi makes such occurrences all but inevitable.
The climate-change bill narrowly passed the House over the summer. The Senate is set to take up a version of the legislation in the coming months.