Eric Trump has thrown his support behind a call for the Federal Communications Commission to investigate ABC News, escalating a fight over a retracted network report that linked the president's sons to billions in Pentagon contracts through defense contractor Anduril Industries. The clash pits the Trump family against the Disney-owned network, while Disney is simultaneously suing the FCC over what it calls a retaliatory campaign against ABC.
What ABC News originally reported
The dispute began with an ABC News report published last Wednesday, headlined "Trump sons' investments have won billions in Pentagon contracts since his election." The report examined investments tied to both Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., and claimed that companies connected to the president's sons had secured billions in government contracts, including through venture capital firm 1789 Capital, where Donald Trump Jr. serves as a partner. The centerpiece of the report was 1789 Capital's investment in defense technology company Anduril Industries.
ABC News pulled the article from its website without explanation, then republished a substantially revised version on Friday. The updated article acknowledged errors involving investments, government contracts and the chronology, clarified that Trump Jr. does not sit on the firm's investment committee, and replaced the original byline with "ABC News." The new headline reads: "New shipyard announced amid earlier Democratic concerns about potential conflicts of interest."
Where the numbers went wrong
The most consequential error concerned the scale of the Anduril investment. ABC's original report suggested that 1789 Capital acquired a major stake in Anduril through a $2.5 billion investment. In fact, that figure represented Anduril's broader fundraising round, while 1789 Capital's actual investment was approximately $50 million. Senator Bernie Moreno, who has taken up the Trumps' cause, specifically challenged the network's characterization of Anduril's financing and argued it unfairly associated the Trump family with federal contracting decisions.
Questions also emerged about how the story was handled internally. A 1789 Capital source said an ABC News journalist involved with the story defended it over the phone before it was deleted, and Semafor reported that editors initially stood by the published article, citing emails between investigative reporter Nathan Lee, who authored the original story, and an Anduril spokesperson. That account complicates the network's explanation to other media that the piece had been published "prematurely." ABC News did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Moreno's FCC letter and Eric Trump's reaction
On Monday, Eric Trump reacted on X to Moreno's move, writing: "Thank you @berniemoreno — can't wait to participate!" He accused the network of publishing a false story, letting it spread, and deleting it "under the cover of darkness with no explanation or apology," demanding to know who approved the report and whether the author had been fired.
Moreno's letter to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr went further, urging the Commission to "open a formal investigation into ABC News's political hit job," asking who signed off on the story, who may have profited from it, and whether the network violated its obligations as a broadcast licensee. In parallel, Disney — ABC's parent company — has sued the FCC, accusing it of a retaliatory campaign against ABC and seeking to block early license renewal proceedings, setting up a two-front legal war between the media giant and the regulator.
What happens next
The controversy leaves both sides entrenched: the Trump camp sees a discredited hit piece and wants accountability from the FCC; press advocates will read the FCC probe demand — alongside Disney's retaliation lawsuit — as government pressure on news coverage. Whether Carr's FCC opens a formal investigation, and how Disney's First Amendment lawsuit plays out, will determine how far this fight goes. For now, the retracted story stands as a cautionary tale about speed, sourcing, and the cost of getting the numbers wrong.
Watch: latest video coverage of the Eric Trump–ABC News FCC fight on YouTube — search results for this developing story.
Music in this post's reel: Kevin MacLeod - Hitman (incompetech.com), licensed under CC BY 3.0
Sources: Fox News; New York Post.