{"id":2679330,"date":"2026-10-09T00:45:11","date_gmt":"2026-10-09T04:45:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/abc-news-immediately-deletes-wildly-inaccurate-lying-story-targeting-trump-family-off-by-billions-of-dollars\/"},"modified":"2026-10-09T00:49:04","modified_gmt":"2026-10-09T04:49:04","slug":"abc-news-immediately-deletes-wildly-inaccurate-lying-story-targeting-trump-family-off-by-billions-of-dollars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/abc-news-immediately-deletes-wildly-inaccurate-lying-story-targeting-trump-family-off-by-billions-of-dollars\/","title":{"rendered":"ABC News Immediately Deletes Wildly Inaccurate, Lying Story Targeting Trump Family, Off by Billions of Dollars"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">32<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fabc-news-immediately-deletes-wildly-inaccurate-lying-story-targeting-trump-family-off-by-billions-of-dollars%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2679330&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>the content discusses a controversy involving an ABC News story that linked Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump to billions of dollars in defense contracts through thier association with Anduril. The story,published by Nathan Lee,claimed that a significant investment by 1789 Capital gave Donald Trump Jr. a major stake in Anduril, and also stated that the company was backed by over $6 billion in government contracts. However, Palmer Luckey, founder of Anduril, publicly refuted these claims, asserting the story was false. He stated that 1789 Capital&#8217;s actual investment was only $50 million-far less than the reported major stake-and that the claim about $6 billion in government contracts was inflated and based on hypothetical ceilings. Luckey and others criticized ABC for refusing to correct the story, which had <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-approval-under-water-in-california-for-the-first-time-in-his-presidency\/\" title=\"Biden Approval Under Water in California for the First Time in His Presidency\">influenced public perception<\/a> and decisions. The article also notes previous legal actions against ABC over inaccurate reporting and highlights the importance of accurate financial disclosures.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><br \/>\n<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\"><br \/>\n<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><html><body><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_0)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>ABC News published a story tying Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump to billions in defense work, but shortly thereafter removed the story completely from its site.<\/p>\n<p>Anduril founder Palmer Luckey <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/PalmerLuckey\/status\/2107972323315950029\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">said<\/a> the network had the investment wrong by billions and the contract total wrong, as well.<\/p>\n<p>The story, by Nathan Lee, went up around Tuesday\u2019s announcement of a $6.6 billion Anduril project tied to submarine work in Baltimore County.<\/p>\n<p>An archived copy quoted by <a href=\"https:\/\/redstate.com\/kyle-becker\/2026\/10\/08\/the-latest-hit-job-on-trumps-son-vanishes-after-critics-point-out-inconsistencies-n2207872\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">RedState<\/a> said the Navy would support $2.9 billion of that cost for a plant to make parts for Virginia-class submarines, and that Anduril would invest $3.7 billion in a yard Trump called Arsenal-2.<\/p>\n<p>The piece then turned to 1789 Capital, a firm that lists Donald Trump Jr. as one of six partners.<\/p>\n<p>Lee, who identifies himself on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/bynathanlee\/?isSelfProfile=false\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">LinkedIn<\/a> as a journalism student at the University of Missouri working in ABC\u2019s Washington, D.C. bureau, wrote that the firm \u201cclaimed a major stake in Anduril in June 2025 from a $2.5 billion investment into the company.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It said Anduril had since received about $1.8 billion on 135 other government agreements, and that an ABC analysis found defense companies \u201cbacked by the president\u2019s sons,\u201d including Anduril, had \u201craked in more than $6 billion\u201d in active or promised contracts since those investments.<\/p>\n<p>The story noted a May letter from Sens. Richard Blumenthal, Elizabeth Warren, Tammy Duckworth, and Rep. Robert Garcia asked the Pentagon inspector general to investigate.<\/p>\n<p>The live URL to the ABC story now returns an <a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.com\/Politics\/trump-sons-investments-won-billions-pentagon-contracts-election\/404\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">error message<\/a> saying the page is \u201cunavailable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>RedState said a search of ABC\u2019s sites turned up no correction or retraction.<\/p>\n<p>Luckey answered before the page came down. He quoted the \u201cmajor stake\u201d sentence and wrote, \u201cThis is not true. You are lying. Please correct your lies.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In a follow-up, he said Anduril had given Lee the figures: 1789 Capital had invested $50 million in Anduril, \u201cabout 1\/1000th of the company,\u201d not a major stake taken out of a $2.5 billion round. The gap between those two numbers is $2.45 billion.<\/p>\n<p>Nathan Lee has deleted his post and has not commented.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">\u201c1789 Capital \u2014 a venture capital firm that lists Donald Trump Jr. as one of six partners along with three founders \u2014 claimed a major stake in Anduril in June 2025 from a $2.5 billion investment into the company.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This is not true. You are lying. Please correct your lies.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Palmer Luckey (@PalmerLuckey) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/PalmerLuckey\/status\/2107926985674752413?\">October 7, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>  He also rejected the contract claim. \u201cThe claim of $6B+ in \u2018active or promised government contracts\u2019 is also a lie,\u201d he wrote. Most of that sum, he said, was \u201chypothetical contract ceilings, which are (by design) larger than the government or the contractor expect to transact.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He said ABC was refusing to correct the story because people, including the governor, had acted on it, and that admitting the error would make a judgment against the network easy.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">@ABC is refusing to correct this lie. @ByNathanLee\u2019s \u201canalysis\u201d is totally bogus, and he knows it, because Anduril provided him with the actual numbers \u2013 1789 Capital has only invested a total of $50M in Anduril, and this so-called \u201cmajor stake\u201d is about 1\/1000th of the company.<\/p>\n<p>The claim of $6B+ in \u201cactive or promised government contracts\u201d is also a lie. Most of that amount is in hypothetical contract ceilings, which are (by design) larger than the government or the contractor expect to transact.<\/p>\n<p>The problem for Nathan and ABC, which they also know, is that a bunch of people, including the Governor, assumed they were telling the truth and acted on it. Admitting they got this wrong would make a legal judgement against them trivially easy. And so they lie.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Palmer Luckey (@PalmerLuckey) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/PalmerLuckey\/status\/2107972323315950029?\">October 7, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediaite.com\/media\/news\/abc-news-mysteriously-deletes-report-on-trump-sons-6b-business-dealings\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Alexa Henning<\/a>, a spokeswoman for 1789 Capital, made the same distinction.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis post shows you have literally zero financial literacy,\u201d she said in a remark directed at the ABC reporter.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c1789 Capital does not have a \u2018major stake\u2019 in Anduril,\u201d Henning <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/alexahenning\/status\/2108015520951808197\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">wrote<\/a> in a post on X. \u201cIt\u2019s false to say Vulcan, Firehawk, and PsiQuantum are \u2018backed by Don Jr and Eric Trump.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHere\u2019s a small lesson, that I also explained to ABC, Henning continued in her post. \u201cThe \u2018reporter\u2019 who is a <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >complete idiot conflated raising funds<\/a> with investment by 1789. Those are two separate actions. Meaning the \u2018investments\u2019 mentioned were actually the total number raised for a funding round, that MANY companies contribute to.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She also said many of the companies had won contracts under former President Joe Biden as well as Trump. Anduril\u2019s own awards, ABC\u2019s story noted, go back to 2019.<\/p>\n<p>This is not <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/abc-trump-lawsuit-defamation-stephanopoulos-04aea8663310af39ae2a85f4c1a56d68\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ABC\u2019s first expensive miss<\/a> on Trump. In December 2024, the network agreed to pay $15 million to a presidential foundation and museum, plus $1 million in legal fees, to settle his defamation suit against the network and commentator George Stephanopoulos, who asserted that Trump had been found \u201cliable for rape.\u201d A New York jury in the E. Jean Carroll case found him liable for sexual abuse, a different claim under that state\u2019s law.<\/p>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #171717; display: flex;font-size: 16px;font-weight: 600;line-height: 1.5;margin: 24px 0;padding: 18px 20px 18px 30px;text-align: left;\">\n<div style=\"align-self: stretch;border-left: 3px solid #171717;flex-shrink: 0;padding-left: 20px;\"><\/div>\n<p><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/\">Choose The Western Journal as your preferred source on Google and never miss reporting that defends truth, protects freedom, and advances Western civilization<\/a><\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey == typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts = { \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs = [ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i = 0; i < inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! 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Palmer Luckey of Anduril disputed the figures, stating they were significantly inaccurate<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2679331,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Eric-and-Don-Jr.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[4188,4133,5894,3634],"class_list":["post-2679330","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-media","tag-news","tag-politics","tag-trump"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Eric-and-Don-Jr.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2679330","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2679330"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2679330\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2679342,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2679330\/revisions\/2679342"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2679331"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2679330"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2679330"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2679330"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}