Yup, freelance software dev here, and I've been that consultant before for a large healthcare company. They had a new VP and he wanted to make changes to the app and org but needed a report from an external consultant to CYA. He already knew what he wanted the report to say and was not subtle on it. I talked to a couple people in the org, wrote a quick report basically signing off on his plan, and got paid handsomely. Thankfully, what he wanted to do was IMO correct, but the whole thing was ridiculous. They tried to bring me back to lead the dev team but I wasn't super interested in dealing with those politics.
I don't think it's ridiculous, it's how things work in many companies. People use various methods and tricks trying to convince others or get what they want from them. Sometimes the CEO is hesitant and needs a push from the consultancy,sometimes it's power games and etc. Most businesses have these things, it's not unique,even though some people would like to believe it.
