ABC News Republishes Corrected Story on Trump Sons
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What happened
On Wednesday, ABC News published an article stating that investments tied to Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, including through the venture firm 1789 Capital, were linked to defense companies that had received billions of dollars in U.S. government contracts, including Anduril. The article said 1789 Capital had taken a major stake in Anduril from a $2.5 billion investment in June 2025 and that Anduril had since received about $1.8 billion under government contracts. 1789 Capital spokesperson Alexa Henning and Anduril founder Palmer Luckey disputed the reporting, saying the firm did not hold a major stake, that the $2.5 billion figure described a broader funding round rather than 1789 Capital’s own outlay, and that Luckey put 1789’s Anduril investment at about $50 million. After Henning publicly criticized the piece, said ABC had not sought comment before publication, and told the network lawyers would be in touch, ABC News removed the article from its website on Thursday; the original URL showed an unavailable-page message, and a promotional post on X was also deleted. ABC News issued no editor’s note or public explanation and did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Sourcing check · No sources quoted · 3 articles
No article names a source or cites a document. It started with unnamed sources and none has been named since. 1789 Capital spokesperson denied part of it on the record.
What these terms mean and how they're counted
- On the record · names a source 0 of 3
- On the record means the article cites a source by name for the story's main claim: a person, or an institution speaking officially, such as a company statement or a named agency's spokesperson. The opposite is an unnamed source. The count is how many of the counted articles cite at least one such source; the names are everyone named across them, each once however the articles spell it. Here: No article does.
- Primary evidence · cites a document or data 0 of 3
- Primary evidence means the article cites a record you could check yourself: a court filing or ruling, a dataset or report, a recording or transcript, an official statement or press release, market data. A quote is not a document. The count is how many articles cite one. Here: None cited.
- Credits another outlet 0 of 3
- The article says the story comes from another outlet's reporting (“first reported by Reuters”). Those articles relay the story; they are not independent confirmation. Here: Each article presents its own reporting.
- Unnamed sources 0 of 3
- The main claim is attributed to people who are not identified: “people familiar with the matter”, “officials said”. The count is how many articles do this.
- On-record denial 1
- A named person or institution says the claim, or part of it, is not true. It is on the record — someone signed their name to it — but it is not confirmation, so it never counts toward On the record. Criticizing or dissenting from a decision is not a denial. The count is how many people or institutions deny it; each is listed with the first article that carried the denial. Here: 1789 Capital spokesperson (Daily Caller, Oct 10, 19:45 UTC)
- How it developed
- When the first report landed and whether it named anyone; when the first named source and the first document appeared. Here: First report Oct 9, 20:20 UTC by Breitbart, with no named source. No article has named one since.
- Not counted 0
- Opinion, analysis and video pieces, and articles too short to assess. Every count above is out of the counted articles. An article republished under a new headline is one article.
This is about who is cited, not whether the story is true. Each source below says what it names. How we count
ONE-SIDED THIS WEEK.
Only right-leaning outlets have covered this story in the last two days;
The Guardian reported it on 2026-10-06.
Omitted — what each side leaves out
Unpacked
The deletion of ABC News's Trump-sons Pentagon story is absent from left-leaning coverage. Right-leaning coverage reports that ABC News posted a Wednesday piece tying Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump to Pentagon contracts, then removed it and left a dead link with no editor's note. Daily Wire reports Anduril founder Palmer Luckey putting 1789 Capital's stake at $50M, not the major holding ABC had described. Readers of left-leaning coverage would not know the article was pulled after that challenge.
Right-leaning outlets also split on emphasis. Fox News leads with ABC facing legal threats from 1789 Capital's spokesperson. Daily Wire instead foregrounds Luckey calling the analysis "totally bogus."
Why did ABC News delete the entire report instead of correcting the size of 1789 Capital's stake?
Bottom line
ABC News erased its Trump-sons Pentagon article without a correction or editor's note, and left-leaning outlets have not covered that deletion even as Daily Wire reported a $50M Anduril stake.
The receipts — 4 facts one side's coverage lacks
- ABC News deleted the Trump sons Pentagon story; the original URL now shows an unavailable or 404 page and no editor's note was issued
- Anduril founder Palmer Luckey said 1789 Capital invested $50 million in Anduril, about 1/1000th of the company
- ABC News did not seek comment from 1789 Capital before publishing the story
- 1789 Capital spokesperson Alexa Henning said the ABC reporter conflated a funding round's total with 1789 Capital's own investment
The Right View
Fox News, The Daily Wire, and Breitbart describe the ABC article as a retracted hit piece that ABC deleted within about 24 hours after pushback and a legal threat, without a correction, editor’s note, or on-the-record explanation. They report that Henning said a reporter conflated a multi-investor funding round with 1789 Capital’s own investment, that many of the cited companies also won contracts under the Biden administration, and that ABC did not contact 1789 Capital before publishing. They cite Luckey’s claim that 1789 Capital invested about $50 million in Anduril—described as roughly one-thousandth of the company—and his statement that Anduril had given reporter Nathan Lee the actual figures. Coverage notes that California Gov. Gavin Newsom shared the original story, that Donald Trump Jr. called it false after the deletion, and that ABC also removed a viral promotional post; Breitbart additionally places the episode alongside Disney’s dispute with an FCC license review.
Our Take (balanced)
The retraction episode is substantive: a named outlet published a dated article with specific dollar figures, company names, and contract claims; that article was then removed; and named principals (Henning, Luckey, Trump Jr.) disputed checkable details in public. Established facts are that ABC published the piece, that it disappeared from ABC’s site without an explanation or correction, that 1789 Capital and Anduril contest the ‘major stake’ and $2.5 billion characterizations, and that ABC has not answered press queries. What remains alleged—not independently verified in the coverage at hand—is ABC’s original implication that Trump family investments caused billions in Pentagon awards, the precise size and timing of 1789 Capital’s Anduril holding, and whether silent deletion followed legal pressure, factual error, or both. No left-leaning outlet has reported this. Watch for an ABC correction or on-the-record statement, primary records of 1789 Capital’s Anduril stake and SAM.gov contract dates, and any legal demand letters or filings.
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