Eric Trump, son of President Donald Trump, recently expressed his support for a current federal investigation into a botched story from liberal-leaning network ABC News concerning his family’s business dealings with defense contractor Anduril Industries. The investigation was called for by Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH).
Moreno demanded the Federal Communications Commission, otherwise known as the FCC, open a probe into what led to the publication of an error-filled report on the Disney-owned network’s official website a week ago. The story featured the headline, “Trump’s sons’ investments have won billions in Pentagon contracts since his election.”
The report was initially deleted from the site without any explanation provided for why and then later republished with a correction. The president’s son took to social media platform X to express his eagerness to be involved in the investigation, saying, “Thank you @berniemoreno — can’t wait to participate!”
According to a report from Fox News, he continued his response to the news of the investigation by writing, “You can’t publish a bulls**t hit-piece, let it spread and go viral, then delete it 24 hours later, under the cover of darkness with no explanation or apology. Who approved it? Has the author been fired? @ABC owes us answers.”
Moreno penned a letter to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr demanding ABC News be held accountable for their report and questioned whether ABC News might have violated its obligations as a broadcaster in the ordeal. Moreno then urged Carr to open an investigation into the matter to determine if there should be consequences for the left-leaning network.
“Thus, I urge the Commission to open a formal investigation into ABC News’s political hit job. We must know who signed off on the publication of this false story, who may have asked to profit from the attack, and whether ABC News’s conduct violated its obligations as a licensee,” Moreno went on to say in his letter.
ABC News’ original article claimed that companies with connections to President Trump’s sons, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., had secured billions in government contracts, including through a venture capital firm called 1789 Capital. Moreno challenged the original report’s characterization of Anduril’s financing, making the case that the network misrepresented the company’s investment activity and then unfairly connected the Trump family with federal contracting decisions.
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The underlying controversy concerns the claim by ABC News that 1789 Capital, where Trump Jr., serves as a partner, obtained a sizable strike in Anduril thanks to a massive $2.5 billion investment. The figure actually represented Anduril’s fundraising round, while the actual investment from 1789 Capital was $50 million.
After taking down the article, ABC News made some substantial edits to the article before republishing it, acknowledging the fact that it did indeed contain errors concerning investments, government contracts, and the timeline of events. The updated article also clarifies that Trump Jr. does not sit on the firm’s investment decision-making committee.
A source inside 1789 spoke with Fox News and said that a journalist working for ABC News involved with the story gave a defense of it over the phone before the story was taken down. Semafor also reported on Sunday that editors first stood by the published story, according to information gleaned from a series of emails between Nathan Lee, an investigative reporter with ABC News.