ABC News Revises, Republishes Report on Trump Sons' Investments After Initial Deletion
The network added an editor's note acknowledging errors in its initial story about Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump's business dealings.
ABC News on Friday evening quietly republished a revised version of a report that had initially scrutinized the business dealings of President Donald Trump's sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump. The original story, published earlier in the week, was removed less than 24 hours later without an immediate public explanation.
The revised report, now titled "New shipyard announced amid earlier Democratic concerns about potential conflicts of interest," reappeared with an editor's note detailing factual corrections and additional context. The initial report, which had been titled "Trump sons' investments have won billions in Pentagon contracts since his election," had been deleted on Wednesday.
The editor's note stated, "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 removal and subsequent republication drew criticism from some media figures, including Bill Ackman, founder and CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management, who argued that ABC News should have issued a public correction at the time of the article's withdrawal.
According to the initial report, 1789 Capital, a venture firm where Donald Trump Jr. is a partner, had claimed a major stake in Anduril from a $2.5 billion investment into the company. However, a spokesperson for 1789 Capital, Alexa Henning, disputed this, stating that the firm did not have a "major stake" in Anduril and that the $2.5 billion figure represented Anduril's total funding raised, not an investment by 1789 Capital.
The revised article clarifies that 1789 Capital previously invested $50 million in the defense contractor Anduril. It also notes that Donald Trump Jr. does not sit on the three-person committee responsible for investment decisions at 1789 Capital, according to the spokesperson. The original report's byline was also changed to "ABC News" in the revised version.