ABC News removes report on Trump sons' investments and Pentagon contracts, with no explanation
ABC News took down a report linking investments by Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump to Pentagon contracts, after 1789 Capital disputed it and threatened legal action. ABC has given no public explanation.
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The story, neutrally told
Right · 2ABC News removed from its website a report on the business dealings of President Donald Trump's sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, and has given no public explanation or editor's note. Fox NewsR “has failed to provide any explanation or editor’s note for the vanished "hit piece."” Read at Fox News ↗ BreitbartR “The legacy media outlet offered no reason for removing the story” Read at Breitbart ↗ Right · 1The report, published Wednesday under the headline "Trump sons' investments have won billions in Pentagon contracts since his election," said that Anduril, a defence company investing in a new Baltimore shipyard, had ties to the two sons through 1789 Capital. Fox NewsR “was published Wednesday with the headline, "Trump sons' investments have won billions in Pentagon contracts since his election,"” Read at Fox News ↗ Right · 1According to Fox News's quotation of the deleted story, 1789 Capital lists Trump Jr. as one of six partners and claimed a major stake in Anduril in June 2025. The story said Anduril has since received about $1.8 billion from 135 other US government contracts. Fox NewsR “Since that investment, Anduril has been awarded 135 other contracts with the U.S. government and to date has received around $1.8 billion” Read at Fox News ↗
Right · 1A deleted ABC post on X said an ABC News analysis found defence companies backed by the sons had "raked in more than $6 billion dollars in active or promised government contracts" since the investments were made, according to Breitbart. BreitbartR “defense companies backed by President Trump’s sons have now raked in more than $6 billion dollars in active or promised government contracts” Read at Breitbart ↗ Right · 11789 Capital spokesperson Alexa Henning publicly disputed the report. She said the firm does not hold a "major stake" in Anduril and that the reporter confused raising funds with investment by 1789, and she noted that many of the companies won government contracts under both Biden and Trump. Fox NewsR “insisting the company does not have a "major stake" in Anduril and blasting the "biased hit piece."”“many of these companies have gotten government contracts during Biden AND Trump” Read at Fox News ↗ Right · 1Henning told Fox News Digital she emailed ABC detailing alleged errors and warned that lawyers would be in touch if no action was taken. She also said ABC never sought comment from 1789 Capital before publishing, and that she wants an explanation and a statement of the errors. Fox NewsR “informing the Disney-owned network that lawyers would be in touch if action was not taken”“ABC News never asked 1789 Capital for comment prior to the story’s initial publication” Read at Fox News ↗
Right · 1ABC also deleted an X post promoting the story that had been shared by prominent Democrats, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Trump Jr. responded to Newsom that ABC deleted the article "because it’s false." Fox NewsR “ABC News also deleted a viral X post intended to promote the story that was shared by several prominent Democrats.”“"ABC deleted this article in less than 24 hours because it’s false.” Read at Fox News ↗ Right · 2The outlets differ on timing. Fox says ABC deleted the story Thursday, while Breitbart, citing a K-File newsletter, says it was scrubbed Wednesday evening and the old URL now shows a 404 error page. The deleted story remains viewable on the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine. Fox NewsR “which can still be viewed via the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine” Read at Fox News ↗ BreitbartR “quietly scrubbed the article from its website Wednesday evening, leaving the original URL to direct visitors to a 404 error page.” Read at Breitbart ↗ Right · 2Breitbart links the episode to Disney's dispute with the Trump administration, in which Disney calls an FCC review of its broadcast licences a "retaliatory campaign"; a federal judge's decision is pending. ABC News did not immediately respond to Fox's request for comment. BreitbartR “Disney has tried to end an FCC review of its broadcast licenses, claiming the move was a “retaliatory campaign” led by the Trump administration” Read at Breitbart ↗ Fox NewsR “ABC News did not immediately respond to a request for comment.” Read at Fox News ↗
Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.
Left0 outlets
No left outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
Centre0 outlets
No centre outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
Right2 outlets
- Framing
- Both outlets present the story as ABC publishing and then quietly deleting a "hit piece" on the president's sons, with the lack of explanation as the main point. Fox leads with 1789 Capital's legal threat and rebuttal; Breitbart stresses media silence and the Disney–FCC dispute.
- Emphasis
- ABC's silence, no editor's note, the 1789 Capital spokesperson's rebuttal, Trump Jr.'s reply to Newsom, and Democrats having shared the story.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Neither outlet quotes ABC or a reporter defending the story, and neither tests the underlying contract figures ($1.8 billion for Anduril, over $6 billion across companies) beyond 1789's denial. Only right-leaning outlets are in this story's coverage, so there is no left or centre account to compare.
- Charged language
- “hit piece”“quietly deleted”“vanished”“legacy media outlet”“mystery retraction”
- For example
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“ABC News quietly deleted its report on Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump's alleged ties to Pentagon contracts after 1789 Capital threatened legal action.” — Fox News
“ABC News posted — then retracted — a hit piece against President Donald Trump’s two eldest sons without explanation earlier this week.” — Breitbart
What every side reports
- ABC News published, then deleted, a report on Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump's investments and government contracts.
- ABC has given no public explanation or editor's note.
- ABC also deleted a promotional X post for the story.
- The original URL now shows an error page.
Where accounts differ
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When ABC deleted the story
- Right
- Fox says Thursday; Breitbart, citing K-File, says Wednesday evening.
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Size of contracts tied to the sons' investments
- Right
- Fox quotes the report as saying Anduril received about $1.8 billion; Breitbart quotes ABC's X post as citing over $6 billion across defence companies.
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Whether the report was wrong
- Right
- 1789 Capital and Trump Jr. call it false; ABC has not responded.
1789 Capital organisation
Spokesperson Alexa Henning says the report was biased and wrong, that 1789 has no "major stake" in Anduril, and that ABC conflated fundraising rounds with its investments. She says she warned ABC of legal action, welcomes the takedown and wants an explanation.
“She "really appreciates that they took it down," but wants a clear explanation of why it was published in the first place” — Fox News
ABC News organisation
ABC News has given no explanation, correction or comment, and also deleted its promotional X post.
“The network has not issued a correction or provided a public explanation for why the report was removed from its website.” — Fox News
Eric Trump person
Donald Trump Jr., who is a partner at 1789 Capital, said ABC deleted the article because it was false. Eric Trump is named in the report but no direct comment from him is cited.
“"ABC deleted this article in less than 24 hours because it’s false.” — Fox News
Left0 articles
No coverage yet.
Centre0 articles
No coverage yet.
Right2 articles
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ABC News deletes ‘hit piece’ on Trump sons' Pentagon-linked investments without explanation
Critical Treats ABC's deletion as an unexplained retreat after a legal threat and gives 1789 Capital's rebuttal extensive space.
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ABC News Posts Then Retracts Trump Family Hit Piece With No Explanation
Critical Describes a "mystery retraction" of an ABC "hit piece", relying on CNN's Andrew Kaczynski and a K-File newsletter, and ties it to Disney's FCC dispute.
- 8 Oct 23:00 First Fox NewsR ABC News deletes ‘hit piece’ on Trump sons' Pentagon-linked investments without explanation
- 9 Oct 21:20 +22h 20m BreitbartR ABC News Posts Then Retracts Trump Family Hit Piece With No Explanation
Times are when each article was published, or when we first saw it if the outlet gave no time.