Trump Organization Demands Retraction of New York Times Article

The Trump Organization is urging the New York Times to retract a story they claim is “libelous” and falsely implies financial misconduct by Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump. A legal letter obtained by Fox News Digital highlights this demand.

The article in question is titled “Trump Cut a Billion-Dollar Mining Deal. His Sons Stand to Profit.” It discusses the involvement of Trump’s sons and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s sons in a tungsten deal with Kazakhstan, brokered by President Donald Trump.

Trump Organization lawyer Alan Garten wrote to the Times, accusing the publication of misleading readers to suggest that the Trump brothers influenced the tungsten mine contract award. Garten addressed the letter to the Times’ editor-in-chief, Joseph Kahn, and the article’s authors, Eric Lipton and Paul Sonne.

Your June 28 article is deeply misleading and appears deliberately crafted to create the false impression that Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump were involved in the decision to award the Kazakhstan tungsten mine project to an affiliate of Cove Capital, Garten stated.

A spokesperson for the New York Times stood by their report, stating that the Trump Organization did not dispute that Eric and Donald Jr. benefited from the U.S.-Kazakhstan tungsten mining agreement. Charlie Stadtlander, Executive Director of Media Relations at the New York Times, emphasized that the article clearly mentioned the brothers’ passive investment in the project.

Tungsten is a valuable resource for manufacturing U.S. military equipment. Countries like China and Russia dominate its supply, prompting the Trump administration to prioritize securing its own supply chain. Trump’s efforts to negotiate a deal with Kazakhstan were part of this strategy.

Details of the agreement came to light after a September 2025 meeting between Tokayev and Lutnick in New York, with Trump participating via phone. U.S. agencies later formalized support with letters of interest totaling $1.6 billion.

The Trump brothers’ association with the deal stems from investments in Dominari Securities, which invested in Skyline Builders. Post-verbal agreement, Skyline proposed a merger with Cove Capital, allowing Cove Kaz to go public. According to Fox News Digital, neither Donald Jr. nor Eric influenced the mining contract.

Cove Capital, the tungsten project’s affiliate, had no prior interaction with the Trump brothers when the financing deals were finalized. The Trump Organization’s letter reaffirms there was no involvement from Donald Jr. or Eric in the deal’s negotiations.

The letter also accuses the Times of intentionally distorting the facts and demands a prominent retraction or correction. The Trump Organization maintains that the piece unfairly suggests the Trump siblings had a role in the Kazakhstan project. The letter stresses that the Times admits in private discussions that the brothers were not active participants.

The Trump Organization’s statement to Fox News Digital criticizes the New York Times for its “categorically false” portrayal of their involvement. They argue these inaccuracies could have been avoided with proper fact-checking.

The White House issued a comment through spokesperson Kush Desai, affirming that the administration prioritized America’s interest in all agreements. The White House emphasized the importance of securing American supply chains during Trump’s tenure.