This seems awfully fishy:

When he was hauled before Congress last week for sending those forged letters to lawmakers on climate change, astroturf lobbyist Jack Bonner pledged to make sure that no similar event ever happened again. As a centerpiece of that effort, Bonner announced that his firm had hired James Thurber, an American University political science professor, to act as an “independent ethics adviser.”

Bonner assured lawmakers that the new adviser “is well-regarded as maintaining the highest ethical standards and independence,” and “will review our policies and work with us to continue to improve our internal quality control system to the highest standards.” All in all, it sounded like a good idea.

But it’s fair to ask how independent Thurber really is.

Today, Roll Call, the Capitol Hill newspaper, ran an ad by the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies (CCPS), the American University program that Thurber directs.

Here is the ad (click here for full size):

Remember the story about the lobbying firm that was caught last week forging anti clean energy legislation letters to members of Congress? Of course you do. The Sierra Club has no intention whatsoever of letting this story die.

Here is the ad that will run Tuesday and Wednesday in CQ, CongressDaily, Politico, The Hill, and Roll Call.

Sierra Club Bonner Ad –

And here is the letter they have just sent to Attorney General Holder:

Sierra Club Bonner DOJ Letter –