Eric Trump Demands FCC Probe of ABC News Report
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What happened
ABC News published a report last Wednesday stating that companies tied to Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, including through venture capital firm 1789 Capital, had secured billions in Pentagon contracts since the election, and that 1789 Capital had taken a major stake in defense contractor Anduril Industries through a $2.5 billion investment. The network later deleted the article without explanation and, on Friday, republished a substantially revised version that acknowledged errors involving investments, government contracts, and chronology; the $2.5 billion figure described Anduril’s broader fundraising round, while 1789 Capital’s investment was about $50 million, and Trump Jr. does not serve on the firm’s investment decision-making committee. Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, then sent a letter to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr urging a formal investigation into whether ABC News, as an FCC licensee, violated its public-interest obligations. Eric Trump publicly endorsed that request. Anduril has announced plans to invest nearly $1 billion in an Arsenal-1 manufacturing facility in Ohio expected to create more than 4,000 jobs.
Sourcing check · Fully on the record · 4 articles
4 of 4 articles cite a named source for the story. It was on the record from the first report.
What these terms mean and how they're counted
- On the record · names a source 4 of 4
- 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: Sen. Bernie Moreno, ABC News, Eric Trump and Alexa Henning
- Primary evidence · cites a document or data 2 of 4
- 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: on-record letter, news article
- Credits another outlet 0 of 4
- 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 4
- 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.
- 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 11, 20:43 UTC by Fox News, naming its source. First document in the first report, from Fox News (on-record letter).
- 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 Hill reported it on 2026-10-02.
Omitted — what each side leaves out
Unpacked
Left-leaning outlets have not covered the story at all, so their readers would not know ABC News published then pulled a report that wrongly linked the Trump sons to billions in Pentagon contracts. Right-leaning coverage says Sen. Bernie Moreno asked the FCC to investigate after ABC deleted the piece and republished a corrected version. The original treated Anduril's $2.5 billion fundraising round as a 1789 Capital stake. The firm's actual investment was about $50 million.
Right-leaning coverage itself splits on emphasis. Moreno's warning that the reporting put Ohio manufacturing jobs at risk led one Fox News account. Eric Trump's "bulls--t hit-piece" line led the New York Post.
Does the FCC have authority to treat a retracted ABC News website article as a broadcast-license violation?
Bottom line
ABC News rewrote a Trump-sons Anduril story after treating a $2.5 billion fundraising round as 1789 Capital's investment, and left-leaning outlets have not reported Sen. Bernie Moreno's FCC investigation letter.
The receipts — 4 facts one side's coverage lacks
- ABC's original article claimed 1789 Capital acquired a major stake in Anduril through a $2.5 billion investment, a figure that was Anduril's broader fundraising round
- Semafor reported emails showing ABC editors initially stood by the published story
- The updated ABC article clarified that Donald Trump Jr. does not serve on 1789 Capital's investment decision-making committee
- ABC replaced the original reporter's byline with ABC News on the republished article
The Right View
Fox News and the New York Post report that Sen. Bernie Moreno called ABC’s original story a political hit job and asked the FCC to determine who signed off on it, whether anyone sought to profit from the attack, and whether the network violated its broadcast-license duties. They emphasize that ABC first deleted the piece without explanation, then republished it with a new headline, a generic ABC News byline in place of original reporter Nathan Lee, and an editor’s note admitting factual errors. Both outlets highlight Eric Trump’s demand for answers about who approved the story and whether the author was fired, and they cite Semafor reporting that editors initially stood by the piece—contradicting any suggestion it was published prematurely. Coverage also places the request against Disney’s lawsuit challenging the FCC’s early review of ABC station licenses and notes Anduril’s planned Ohio factory as the economic stake Moreno cited.
Our Take (balanced)
The underlying episode is substantive: named actors, specific dollar figures, and ABC’s own correction establish that the original report misstated 1789 Capital’s Anduril investment as $2.5 billion rather than about $50 million, overstated government-contract claims, and erred on chronology and Donald Trump Jr.’s role. What is established is the publication, deletion, and acknowledged revision of the article, Moreno’s letter to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, and Eric Trump’s public support for a probe. What remains alleged is that the story was a deliberate political hit, that anyone sought to profit from it, that it violated FCC licensee obligations, or that Ohio jobs were actually put at risk. No left-leaning outlet has reported this. Watch for any FCC response to Moreno’s letter, a fuller accounting from ABC of how the errors occurred, and developments in Disney’s lawsuit over ABC station license reviews.
4 sources
- GOP senator calls for FCC probe of ABC News over Trump sons-Anduril 'political hit job'
- Eric Trump trashes ABC over 'bulls--- hit piece,' backs call for FCC probe into revised story
- Eric Trump trashes ABC over ‘bulls–t hit piece,’ backs call for FCC probe into revised story on family biz
- Venture capital firm tied to Donald Trump Jr weighs legal action against ABC News over botched report
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