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A collation of groups, some of which were impersonated by coal lobbying groups are banding together to uncover evidence of further wrongdoing in the ballooning fraudulent letter scandal.
Five prominent non-profits have launched the “Polluter Fraud Hotline” (1-866-363-4648) for average citizens or industry insiders to blow the whistle on deceptive or illegal tactics being perpetrated by big polluters and their lobbyists in opposition to clean
energy legislation now before the US government.
The American Association of University Women (AAUW), National Wildlife Federation, NAACP, and Center for American Progress Action Fund and Sierra Club are also calling for Congressional action to ensure that this type of orchestrated deception of elected lawmakers never happens again.
A recently launched Congressional investigation by Senator Markey into this scandal may uncover additional details but these groups are also taking action on their own to get to the bottom of this debacle.
“We fear we have only have only have seen the tip of the iceberg. Between the fake letters to Congress and a recently leaked American Petroleum Institute memo urging its member companies to have their employees masquerade as ‘concerned energy citizens’ at events as apposed to real citizens, it is increasing clear that additional steps need to be taken,” said Adam Kolton of the National Wildlife Federation.
The groups whose good names were abused by the fraudulent letters are understandably outraged by what happened.
“Corporate lobbyists with very deep pockets manufactured a non-existent Charlottesville AAUW branch and used AAWU’s national logo. That was stunning to us,” said their Executive Director Linda Hallman.
“Later we learned that the woman whose name was forged on the letter is deceased, well before the cap and trade bill was ever considered… This was a carefully constructed and premeditated fraud that victimized non-profits or ...
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