American University is investigating the ad praising astroturf lobbyist Jack Bonner that ran in Roll Call yesterday in the name of one of the school’s department’s.
“The university is aware of the ad and is looking into the facts of the situation,” a university spokeswoman told TPMmuckraker. “The university does not endorse individuals or organizations.”
The ad was placed — and, according to the AU spokeswoman, paid for — by the school’s Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies, which is run by long-time professor and political expert James Thurber. Last week, Bonner testified to Congress that he had retained Thurber to act as an “independent ethics adviser” in the wake of a scandal in which his firm sent forged letters to lawmakers on climate change.
The placement of the ad — and other longstanding ties between Thurber and Bonner, raise questions as to whether Thurber is capable of acting as the truly independent force that Bonner pledged to bring in. Bonner has for many years served as a part-time instructor in Thurber’s department, though a Bonner spokesman told TPMmuckraker he donates to charity the small stipend he earns for the work.
The ad, which you can see here, thanked Bonner for “over 15 years of teaching excellence, and lauded his “knowledge, insight, and years of experience.”
Thurber is working on a pro bono basis, according to a Bonner spokesman, who called him “above reproach.”