Five new forged letters fraudulently sent to Congressmembers have turned up in an ongoing Congressional investigation into the Astroturf campaign launched by the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE) and it subcontractor Bonner & Associates.

The newly confirmed forgeries were sent to at least three Congressmembers and all fraudulently claimed to represent the views of elderly services organizations and senior centers, including the non-profit Erie Center on Health & Aging. 

A total of 13 letters from nine different community groups have now been verified as forgeries, with dozens more letters still being vetted to determine if they were forged by Bonner & Associates, or actually represented the views of the named signers.

ACCCE hired Bonner & Associates in an attempt to scuttle Democratic support for the Waxman-Markey climate and energy legislation approved earlier this summer by the House of Representatives.  ACCCE and Bonner have claimed that the first few forgeries uncovered were the work of a rogue temporary employee whom Bonner has since fired, although that person has not been identified to verify this claim.  The newly revealed forgeries indicate that the ACCCE/Bonner Astroturf campaign was surely a more highly coordinated effort than even the best and brightest temp could muster.