ABC News has severed ties with Kristen Hentschel, a freelance TV producer for the news outlet, after it was revealed she was moonlighting as a corporate operative.
In an explosive report from NPR’s David Folkenflik, Floodlight’s Miranda Green and Mario Ariza, Hentschel would apparently use her ABC News credentials to gain access to politicians and use that opportunity to perform political hit jobs on them.
An especially bizarre aspect of this story is that Hentschel was doing this on behalf of Matrix LLC, a political consulting firm with ties to major corporations based in Florida.
In one instance, Hentschel was paid $7,000 for her work in July 2018 when she confronted Toby Overdorf, a Republican political candidate for the Florida House of Representatives.
Overdorf was an environmental engineer, and his campaign had promised to resolve environmental issues within his district.
Matrix paid Hentschel for this assignment with the payment labeled as “for Florida Crystals, FPL,” which was meant to signify that Florida Crystals, a sugar conglomerate, and Florida Power & Light were the corporations tied to this particular job.
These two companies indirectly opposed Overdorf’s pledges during that campaign period and have subsequently denied their involvement or not commented on the situation.
“It was an attack ad against my livelihood, my family,” Overdorf told NPR. “And it was something that potentially could last far beyond my time running for office.”
When contacted by TVNewser about the story, ABC News responded with a statement saying, “Kristen Hentschel was a freelance daily hire who never worked for ABC News on the political stories referenced in the NPR article. She does not currently work for ABC News.”
However, Hentschel had been freelancing as a producer for ABC News since 2016, working primarily on stories for Good Morning America such as NFL quarterback Tom Brady cringing when being called the “greatest of all time” and Gabby Petito’s disappearance and death.
The NPR report said Hentschel made at least $14,350 as a result of her involvement with Matrix.