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ABC News pulled a report about businesses linked to Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump less than a day after publishing it, then reposted a revised version with a new headline and an editor’s note acknowledging errors.
The original story, published Wednesday, claimed investments by the president’s sons had secured billions of dollars in Pentagon contracts since President Donald Trump’s election. When ABC republished it Friday, the headline focused instead on a newly announced shipyard project and Democrats’ earlier concerns about potential conflicts of interest.
The correction matters because the original framing suggested a much larger connection between the family’s investments and government contracts than ABC’s revised account supports.
One key error involved 1789 Capital, where Donald Trump Jr. is one of six partners. ABC initially attributed a $2.5 billion investment in defense contractor Anduril Industries to the firm. The corrected article says 1789 Capital invested $50 million; $2.5 billion was the total amount Anduril raised in that funding round.
The revised report also says investment decisions are made by a three-person committee that does not include Trump Jr., citing a spokesperson for 1789 Capital. The firm disputed other descriptions in ABC’s original story, including its characterization of 1789 Capital’s stake in Anduril as major and claims that the president’s sons personally backed certain companies.
Before ABC reposted the report, Trump Jr. celebrated its disappearance and called the original false. He also mocked California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who had shared the first version.
The correction does not settle every question about government contracts awarded to companies backed by 1789 Capital. It does, however, underscore the need to distinguish among investors, amounts, and timelines before suggesting that family investments led to federal awards.
ABC’s revised report discusses a $6.6 billion shipyard investment announced by President Trump and Anduril. The Maryland project is intended to manufacture components for Virginia-class submarines. Congressional Democrats have raised concerns about possible conflicts involving companies backed by 1789 Capital. Rep. Jamie Raskin previously questioned whether the firm’s investments could position it to benefit from federal decisions.
Those concerns remain allegations; they do not establish that Trump Jr. influenced a contract. Attorneys for 1789 Capital rejected the suggestion that political relationships alone demonstrate improper conduct. A Department of War official told ABC that outside affiliations and investors do not factor into funding decisions, which are evaluated according to their benefit to service members. A spokesperson for the president’s sons also denied that they seek to influence procurement or other government actions.
ABC’s updated report notes that Anduril has received government contracts under both Republican and Democratic administrations. It also describes other companies in 1789 Capital’s portfolio that have received federal support, including Vulcan Elements, Firehawk Aerospace, PsiQuantum, and Hadrian. Each has its own investments and government arrangements, which cannot be responsibly combined into a single claim about personal investments by the president’s sons.
The broader questions are whether federal awards are made on merit and documented transparently, and how errors of this scale passed editorial review. ABC’s editor’s note acknowledged inaccuracies but, as Mediaite reported, did not explain the original editorial process. The report’s removal without an immediate public explanation added to the uncertainty before the corrected version appeared.