A freelance TV producer for ABC News allegedly misused her ties with the network while putting pressure on politicians whose policies opposed the interests of clients of a powerful political consulting firm. A roller-coaster report from NPR and the nonprofit Floodlight on Wednesday said Kristen Hentschel, who has done freelance work for ABC News, exploited her credentials with the network “at least three times to trip up Florida politicians whose stances on environmental regulations cut against the interests” of clients of Matrix LLC, a political consulting firm recently accused of secretly surveilling environmentalists and journalists to benefit its corporate clients. Hentschel also allegedly received payments from Matrix labeled with the names of Matrix clients that potentially stood to benefit from her work undermining choice political figures. “If she was working on these stories, she was not authorized to cover them for ABC News,” an ABC News source told NPR.