Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) is calling on the Federal Communications Commission to investigate ABC News after the network quietly deleted a story alleging that a venture firm tied to Donald Trump’s sons, 1789 Capital, secured a “major stake” in defense contractor Anduril Industries through billions in Pentagon-linked contracts.
ABC published the story on October 7. It came down without explanation shortly after, drawing criticism from Anduril founder Palmer Luckey, who called it “totally bogus,” and even from media figures not typically sympathetic to the right, including Brian Stelter.
Moreno went further, framing the episode as a direct threat to his state’s economy. In January, Anduril announced plans to invest nearly $1 billion building a five million-square-foot production facility in Ohio to manufacture Barracuda-500 drones. That project is already underway.
“I’m calling for an investigation into ABC’s political hit job on Anduril & the Trump family,” Moreno said. “After ABC’s cover up, deleting the story without explanation, we need answers.”
For Ohio, this is personal. A free press is essential to democracy. Controlled media opposition is not.
Moreno sent a letter to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr demanding the network be held accountable, and questioning whether ABC violated its obligations as a broadcast licensee.
“I urge the Commission to open a formal investigation into ABC News’s political hit job,” Moreno wrote. “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.”
What ABC Got Wrong
The original story claimed 1789 Capital, where Donald Trump Jr. serves as a partner, acquired a major stake in Anduril through a $2.5 billion investment. That figure actually represented Anduril’s broader fundraising round. 1789 Capital’s actual investment was approximately $50 million.
ABC published a revised version of the story on Friday acknowledging the errors. The correction also clarified that Donald Trump Jr. does not sit on 1789 Capital’s investment decision-making committee. An editor’s note was attached to the revised piece.
The episode follows a 2024 defamation settlement in which Disney and ABC News paid $15 million, plus roughly $1 million in legal fees, after President Trump sued over anchor George Stephanopoulos’s on-air statements that Trump had been found “liable for rape” in the E. Jean Carroll civil cases — a characterization of the verdict that was false.
