CatholicVote CEO refutes claims made on ‘The Tucker Carlson Show’ by former Zeale News political editor

CatholicVote President and CEO Kelsey Reinhardt pushed back early on Aug. 20 against allegations made by former Zeale News political editor Stephen Herreid during an appearance on “The Tucker Carlson Show,” denying that donors or former CatholicVote President Brian Burch pressured the news outlet to alter its coverage of Israel.

Herreid, who recently parted ways with CatholicVote and Zeale News, discussed his departure during an Aug. 19 interview with Tucker Carlson. 

Reinhardt said in a statement responding to the interview that Herreid made several false allegations about Zeale’s editorial decisions and the circumstances surrounding his departure.

“Israel has become the most contentious topic in the world, something that is felt by every organization in America, especially the political ones,” Reinhardt said. “We at CatholicVote have lost donors, supporters, and a political editor over claims that we are either not sufficiently pro-Israel on the one hand, or that we are too critical of Israel on the other.”

Reinhardt acknowledged that she had begun supervising some of Herreid’s editorial decisions, but said the change followed “a long period of observation” in which his reporting had become increasingly concentrated on Israel at the expense of other subjects.

The additional oversight, she said, occurred over concerns about “balance, tone, and basic fairness” and applied specifically to Herreid.

“The bottom line is this: we are dealing here with an editor who does not want to be edited,” Reinhardt said.

Reinhardt rejects claim of donor pressure 

During his interview with Carlson, Herreid claimed the change in editorial policy followed pressure connected to donors at the Napa Institute Conference, according to Reinhardt.

Reinhardt categorically denied that characterization.

“No donor at the Napa Institute pressured Zeale News to change its coverage of Israel,” she said.

Reinhardt said she did discuss Israel with donors and friends of CatholicVote, but she described those conversations as an effort to understand differing attitudes toward the country, particularly across generations. She said she explored the possibility of creating a “listening salon” to bridge those divisions and help inform more balanced coverage.

Herreid also alleged that Burch, CatholicVote’s co-founder and former president, had exerted pressure on Zeale’s coverage, Reinhardt said. Burch left his leadership position at CatholicVote after President Donald Trump appointed him U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See.

Reinhardt said Herreid was not present for the conversation in question, which Herreid confirmed during the interview with Carlson. She characterized his claims about it as “completely false and pure speculation.”

According to Reinhardt, she initiated the subject of Israel during an approximately 35-minute meeting with Burch that was attended by two other CatholicVote employees. The discussion lasted less than five minutes, she said.

“At no point did the Ambassador ask, suggest, or insinuate that Zeale should change its editorial coverage,” Reinhardt said.

Burch’s only observation, according to Reinhardt, was that reporting accurately from Israel can be difficult because information may pass through several sources before it can be independently verified.

Reinhardt also objected to Herreid’s response after Carlson accused Burch of “aiding and abetting the genocide of Christians in the Holy Land,” calling Carlson’s statement “absolutely slanderous.”

Dispute over sourcing and editorial balance

Reinhardt said another point of contention involved Herreid’s frequent reliance on material from the Vulnerable People Project, or VPP, a humanitarian organization founded by Catholic activist Jason Jones.

Reinhardt said CatholicVote did not object to VPP’s perspective but had asked Herreid to moderate the frequency of the organization’s appearance in his reporting to preserve balance with other issues.

The dispute intensified, according to Reinhardt, when Zeale declined to publish a VPP-pitched story about Christian scouts, which she said was the first VPP pitch rejected by the outlet in three years.

Reinhardt said that Jones subsequently threatened to “bury” her in The Washington Post for being unfair to Christians and surrendering to “the Zionists.”

“The impropriety of that threat underscored the point that had been repeatedly stressed to Mr. Herreid, namely the importance of maintaining normal editorial independence from any outside organization,” Reinhardt said.

Reinhardt emphasized that there is no prohibition against reporting on Israel.

“There never was and never will be a Zeale-wide prohibition on covering Israel,” she said.

Rather, Reinhardt said, the heightened editorial review applied specifically to Herreid because of concerns about his coverage.

“Ultimately, this was not a dispute over whether Zeale would report on suffering in Israel, Gaza, or the West Bank,” Reinhardt concluded. “It was a dispute over ordinary editorial standards: balance, sourcing, supervision, and adherence to the editorial process.

“Zeale will continue to cover Israel and the suffering of Christians throughout the world without fear or favor, and with the seriousness such stories deserve.”