The venture capital firm 1789 Capital is weighing legal action against ABC News after the network deleted and then quietly republished a report that misstated the firm's investment in defense contractor Anduril Industries, a spokesperson said.
«We still have our attorneys completely plugged into this, and we're not taking options off the table because they can't get away with writing completely false things and hit jobs,» 1789 Capital spokesperson Alexa Henning told Fox News Digital. «We're not going to back down. We're gonna keep calling them out and make sure that people know the truth.»
The dispute centers on an ABC News report that claimed companies connected to President Donald Trump's adult sons, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., had secured billions in government contracts, including through 1789 Capital, where Trump Jr. serves as a partner. The original article alleged that 1789 Capital acquired a major stake in Anduril through a $2.5 billion investment. That figure actually represented Anduril's broader fundraising round, while 1789 Capital's investment was approximately $50 million.
ABC News deleted the original report without explanation, then republished a substantially revised version days later. The updated article acknowledged errors involving investments, government contracts and the chronology of events. It also clarified that Trump Jr. does not serve on the firm's investment decision-making committee. The original reporter's byline was replaced with «ABC News,» and the headline was changed to «New shipyard announced amid earlier Democratic concerns about potential conflicts of interest.»
The original report remains accessible through the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine under the headline «Trump sons' investments have won billions in Pentagon contracts since his election.» Henning said there was «no evidence» the Trumps did anything wrong, but the false version went viral on social media and was shared by high-profile Democrats, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
While the updated story includes an editor's note admitting «errors,» it does not explain what those errors were or apologize to 1789 Capital. Henning said that outcome is not «sufficient.» She wants ABC News to explain the truth to its audience and noted that «ABC has a long history of doing this to the president and his family.»
The controversy has shocked the media industry, with observers questioning what went wrong and why ABC deleted the initial version without a clear explanation. Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, called on the Federal Communications Commission to investigate what led to the erroneous report.
Henning said nobody from ABC News asked 1789 Capital for comment before the initial story was published, and that an ABC News journalist «vigorously defended» the report before it was suddenly deleted. «If you don't understand investments in venture capital growth, you shouldn't be reporting on it,» she said. «When you're a reporter, you should want to understand what you're reporting on.»
She also objected to reporters who cover the media industry insisting that sources familiar with the situation claimed the initial story was simply «published prematurely.» «I knew that was also a lie because that was not told to me the day the story went up — the editor fully stood by it … they know they were wrong. They just don't want to admit it,» Henning said.
Henning believes a combination of «laziness» and a desire to get a «good hit on the Trump family» resulted in the false report being published. «They just didn't think they would get push back,» she said. She added that she has heard from «multiple people inside ABC» who privately acknowledge this was a «huge mess up.»
«This story was just false on the facts,» Henning said. «Our lawyers have been in touch with ABC and Disney. We're still monitoring the coverage and still monitoring what they say, so we'll see about a lawsuit.»
ABC News did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The episode echoes a previous legal clash: Trump agreed to a $16 million settlement with ABC News in 2024 after anchor George Stephanopoulos falsely stated that Trump had been found liable for «rape.»