ABC News republishes corrected story on Trump sons after deleting initial report
The broadcaster replaced an article claiming firms tied to Trump Jr. won billions in defence deals after confusing a company's total fundraising with a venture stake.
ABC News has republished a heavily rewritten investigation into the business dealings of Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, two days after deleting its initial report without explanation.
The original piece, published on Wednesday afternoon under the headline "Trump sons' investments have won billions in Pentagon contracts since his election", was pulled offline within 24 hours following pushback over elementary factual errors. When the piece reappeared late on Friday, both the focus and the presentation had changed completely.
The article now runs under a far narrower headline: "New shipyard announced amid earlier Democratic concerns about potential conflicts of interest". The original reporter bylines were replaced with a generic credit to "ABC News", accompanied by a prominent correction note.
What went wrong in the original report
The central error in the initial story involved 1789 Capital, a venture capital firm where Donald Trump Jr. is one of six partners.
The deleted version alleged that 1789 Capital had taken a major stake in defence contractor Anduril through a $2.5 billion investment in June 2025. In reality, the $2.5 billion figure was the total amount of capital Anduril had raised across all investors in a funding round. 1789 Capital's actual investment was $50 million in a company valued at roughly $60 billion.
Alexa Henning, a spokesperson for 1789 Capital, publicly criticised the reporting before the retraction, stating that the firm holds no major stake in Anduril and that the author had conflated a company's overall fundraising round with 1789's specific contribution. Henning added that while Trump Jr. is a partner at the firm, he does not sit on the three-member committee that decides which investments to make.
Retraction and industry criticism
ABC News removed the report on Thursday without an accompanying retraction or notice on the dead link, leaving readers to find cached copies on internet archive databases.
The stealth removal drew immediate scrutiny. Pershing Square Capital Management founder Bill Ackman condemned the quiet takedown on social media, writing that journalistic standards require publications to address inaccuracies openly rather than erase them silently.
Donald Trump Jr. also seized on the deletion on X, mocking California Governor Gavin Newsom and declaring the article false.
The revised story
When ABC News restored the article on Friday, it appended an editor's note admitting that the piece published on 7 October contained inaccuracies in its description of company investments, government contracts, and the chronology of events.
The revised text incorporates 1789 Capital's actual $50 million stake in Anduril and clarifies Trump Jr.'s role within the investment partnership, shifting the piece away from sweeping claims about defence billions toward political concerns raised by Democrats.
Key numbers
| What | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1789 Capital actual investment in Anduril | $50 million | ABC News revised report |
| Total funding raised by Anduril conflated in original report | $2.5 billion | ABC News and 1789 Capital |
| Estimated valuation of Anduril | Approximately $60 billion | ABC News |
In this story
| Name | Role in the story |
|---|---|
| 1789 Capital | Venture capital firm where Trump Jr. is a partner. |
| ABC News | Broadcaster that removed and subsequently republished a heavily corrected report on the Trump family. |
| Donald Trump Jr. | Partner at venture firm 1789 Capital whose business investments were scrutinised in the report. |
