4 minNews
ABC News Republishes Corrected Report on Trump Sons' Pentagon-Linked Investments After Quiet Removal
ABC News has republished a heavily revised version of a report on the business dealings of Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump after deleting the original story without explanation, acknowledging factual errors and drawing criticism from media figures.
ABC News has quietly republished a substantially revised version of a report examining the business dealings of President Donald Trump's eldest sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, after removing the original story earlier in the week without public explanation. The updated article, which appeared Friday evening, includes an editor's note acknowledging errors and carries a new headline: «New shipyard announced amid earlier Democratic concerns about potential conflicts of interest.»
The original report, published Wednesday afternoon under the headline «Trump sons' investments have won billions in Pentagon contracts since his election,» was taken down less than 24 hours later. It remains accessible through the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine. The byline on the revised article was changed to «ABC News,» and the network acknowledged mistakes involving descriptions of company investments, government contracts, and the chronology of events.
The revisions followed public criticism from Alexa Henning, a spokesperson for 1789 Capital, the venture firm where Donald Trump Jr. serves as a partner. Henning disputed the original report's characterization of the firm's investments, stating that «1789 Capital does not have a 'major stake' in Anduril» and challenging the article's description of the Trump brothers' involvement in other companies. She also accused the original reporter of conflating fundraising with investment, writing: «Here's a small lesson, that I also explained to ABC, the 'reporter' who is a complete idiot conflated raising funds with investment by 1789. Those are two separate actions.»
The initial report incorrectly attributed a $2.5 billion investment in defense contractor Anduril to 1789 Capital. The revised article clarifies that the figure represented the total funding Anduril raised last year. It also states that 1789 Capital previously invested $50 million in Anduril, which ABC valued at approximately $60 billion, and notes that Trump Jr. does not sit on the three-person committee responsible for investment decisions, according to a spokesperson for the firm.
The decision to remove the original report without an immediate public correction drew sharp criticism from media industry figures. Bill Ackman, founder and CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management, wrote on X: «This is bad. @ABC must take responsibility for their failed journalism. Basic journalistic ethics requires it. A quiet unexplained withdrawal of a false article does not constitute a proper error correction.» Donald Trump Jr. also mocked the network on X after the story was taken down, writing: «ABC deleted this article in less than 24 hours because it's false. Sounds about as long as your presidential campaign would last.»
The episode highlights ongoing scrutiny of media accuracy and transparency, particularly regarding coverage of politically connected business interests. ABC News has not issued a separate public statement beyond the editor's note accompanying the revised article. Fox News Digital reached out to ABC News, Trump Jr., and 1789 Capital for comment but did not receive immediate responses.
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