ABC News Reposts Deleted Story About Trump's Sons

ABC News removed and then republished a corrected version of an Oct. 7 investigation into financial ties between President Donald Trump’s sons and defense contractors, including a major Navy deal with Anduril Industries, after initially telling subjects the story had been published “prematurely.” The network later acknowledged factual errors in company investments, government contracts, and event timelines, according to reporting by Semafor. 

The episode drew broader attention amid ongoing tensions between the Trump administration and major media outlets, including prior ABC settlements and FCC-related scrutiny. 

The original story, headlined “Trump sons’ investments have won billions in Pentagon contracts since his election,” focused on a new $6.6 billion public-private partnership between Anduril and the U.S. Navy to build a high-tech submarine shipyard in Maryland. It highlighted Donald Trump Jr.’s role as a partner at the venture firm 1789 Capital, stating that the firm “claimed a major stake in Anduril in June 2025 from a $2.5 billion investment into the company.” An ABC analysis claimed defense companies linked to the president’s sons had secured more than $6 billion in active or promised government contracts after related investments. The piece also referenced other firms.⁠

By Thursday, ABC removed the article from its website without a public explanation, resulting in 404 errors on the original URL. An unnamed source familiar with the matter and ABC producer communications to Anduril and another company described the removal as due to premature publication while reporting was finalized. Reporter Nathan Lee, who wrote the original piece, used similar language in outreach.⁠

On Friday evening, ABC republished a substantially revised version under the new headline “New shipyard announced amid earlier Democratic concerns about potential conflicts of interest.” It carried a generic “ABC News” byline (replacing Lee’s) and this editor’s note: “CORRECTION: A version of this story published on Oct. 7 contained errors in the description of certain company investments, government contracts and event chronologies. After subsequent reporting, this version contains corrected information and additional context regarding some of those investments, contracts and events.”⁠

The revised reporting clarified that 1789 Capital invested $50 million in Anduril as part of a broader $2.5 billion funding round—a relatively small stake in a company valued at more than $60 billion. It noted that Trump Jr. is one of six partners (alongside three founders) and does not sit on the three-person investment committee that makes allocation decisions, according to the firm. Earlier characterizations of a “major stake” and the scale of the investment were corrected.⁠

Luckey

Anduril and 1789 Capital had challenged the original claims shortly after publication. Anduril founder Palmer Luckey publicly disputed the investment figures, stating the firm’s stake was about 1/1000th of the company and that ABC had been given accurate numbers. 1789 Capital spokesperson Alexa Henning also pushed back on characterizations of stakes and backing for multiple companies. Some accounts indicate legal threats or warnings preceded the deletion. Trump Jr. later highlighted the removal on social media.⁠

A GOP senator later called for an FCC probe into the original reporting as a “political hit job.” The underlying business and government contracting relationships involving family members of the president remain subjects of legitimate public and political interest and potential oversight questions, independent of the specific numerical and characterization errors in the initial ABC piece.