Trump Threatens to Sue ABC to Silence Reporting on His Sweetheart No-Bid Contracts

Donald Trump — the self-proclaimed champion of the American worker — is threatening to sue broadcaster ABC News, not to protect taxpayers, but to punish a network that had the audacity to report how his administration quietly handed out millions in no-bid contracts to fix a pool.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump attempted to muddy the waters by claiming that ABC "failed to report that their close 'friends,' Dumocrats Obama and Biden, spent over 100 Million Dollars on the Reflecting Pool, and it never worked." Trump provided zero evidence for the $100 million figure. Prior reporting by PBS showed that the Obama administration spent around $35 million on repairs for the Lincoln Memorial monument — and no major repairs to the pool are known to have been carried out during the Biden administration at all.

So why is Trump so furious? Because ABC did its job. The network reported that the cost to repaint the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool had ballooned to more than $14.65 million — more than $4 million over the original estimated cost of a no-bid contract, one that was not awarded by competitive tender, according to federal contract data. That means no open bidding, no competition, no accountability to the workers and taxpayers footing the bill.

ABC also spotlighted a $1.74 million contract awarded to Green Water Solutions, an Ohio-based company, to install a "nano bubble" system to kill algae — handed out through the same no-bid process. The total bill to ordinary Americans: more than $16 million, with the money flowing freely and quietly, away from public scrutiny.

Trump's response to this accountability journalism? Threats and intimidation. He told reporters Monday that the Reflecting Pool damage was caused by vandalism — claiming a "350-foot slit" was cut with a "box-cutter or a knife of some kind" — but the White House has provided no evidence that the pool was intentionally damaged. NBC News reported that at least five people have been arrested in connection with the alleged vandalism.

Then came the money shot. Trump made no attempt to hide his motivation for going after ABC:

"We are preparing lawsuits against ABC for false reporting. I like their money, which will be given to the U.S. Treasury."

"I like their money." There it is. Trump also referenced the $16 million ABC paid to settle a defamation case he filed in 2024 — a settlement in which the network paid $15 million toward Trump's presidential library and an additional $1 million in legal fees. That's not justice for workers. That's a shakedown that lined the coffers of a billionaire president's personal monument.

But the legal threats are only part of Trump's campaign to bring ABC to heel. The broadcaster already faces two investigations from the Federal Communications Commission — led by Trump appointee Brendan Carr — and the FCC has demanded that ABC submit early renewal applications for eight of its local broadcasting licenses. Those stations were not scheduled to apply for renewal until 2028 at the earliest. The FCC's muscle-flexing came shortly after comedian Jimmy Kimmel made a joke about First Lady Melania Trump and Trump personally called for Kimmel's firing.

This is the playbook: use the regulatory power of the federal government, stacked with loyal appointees, to punish any media outlet that dares to ask where the money is going. On Monday, ABC said it was launching an on-air campaign encouraging viewers to support the network after its daytime talk show "The View" was investigated under federal "equal time" rules for political candidates, Reuters reported.

While Trump rails against the press and throws around unsubstantiated $100 million figures, the real story remains buried under the bluster: millions in public dollars, awarded without competitive bidding, with no meaningful transparency for the American workers and taxpayers who paid for every last penny of it.