The Lincoln Group, exposed by The New York Times for paying Iraqi newspapers to print US government propaganda, has been caught in a pay-for-play controversy again. This morning, UPI, the International Herald Tribune, and others are reporting that the Washington DC-based PR agency has allegedly paid Iraqi Sunni religious scholars to deliver messages that would influence Sunnis in Anbar Province to take part in national elections and oppose the insurgency. The report is based on disclosures from a former Lincoln Group employee.

The company retained “three or four Sunni religious scholars to offer advice and write reports for military commanders on the content of propaganda campaigns,” according to the UPI article. The Herald Tribune reports, ““nternal company financial records show that Lincoln spent around $144,000 on “Muslim scholars” from May to September.”

In covering the initial pay-for-play revelation last month, Richard Edelman wrote, “This is utterly unacceptable behavior. In no way does this describe public relations.” But it does create a perception about public relations, one that colors the way the rest of the world views us. The Lincoln Group had nothing to say in response to criticism over its contemptible behavior in December, and so far there’s not a word on its website about the revelation that it went so far as to pay religious scholars.

Besides the ethical issues underlying The Lincoln Group’s behavior, one has to wonder what thought process led the agency’s counselors to conclude the risk was worthwhile. Disclosure of the fact that anti-insurgency scholars were paid indirectly by the Pentagon could only fuel new support for the insurgents. On its website, the company notes that audiences “read about us, surf the Internet and watch our movies. Do you? We do, and we can help you reach, communicate and win in the communities that mean the most.” With such a claim to be in the know—and based on past experience—The Lincoln Group should have known that keeping such payoffs a secret would be nigh impossible. What other pay-for-play skeletons are hiding in the agency’s closet?

The Lincoln Group’s behavior undermines the professional, ethical behavior that characterizes most of the professionals working in PR. First there was Ketchum’s lapse in the Armstrong Williams case. Then the disclosure of The Lincoln Group’s first pay-for-play scandal. Now this. I know it’s beginning to sound like a pitiful litany, but when is this profession going to take steps to repudiate such ethical misconduct?