Company advised by Trump sons said it hoped to benefit from fed money,
then took it back
[August 05, 2025] By
BERNARD CONDON
NEW YORK (AP) — A public document filed by a company that just hired
President Donald Trump’s two oldest sons as advisers included a sentence
early Monday that said it hoped to benefit from grants and other
incentives from the federal government, which their father happens to
lead.
But when The Associated Press asked the Trump family business about the
apparent conflict of interest, the document was revised and the line
taken out.
Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. are getting “founder shares” worth
millions of dollars in New America Acquisition 1 Corp., a company with
no operating business that hopes to fill that hole by purchasing an
American company that can play “a meaningful role in revitalizing
domestic manufacturing,” according to the filing. The president has
geared his trade policy toward boosting manufacturing in the U.S.
The original version of the securities filing said the target company
should be “well positioned” to tap federal or state government
incentives. That reference was taken out of the revised version.
The Trump Organization didn't reply to a question about whether New
America still planned to benefit from government programs or why the
line was cut. But the outside law firm Paul Hastings that helped prepare
the document sent an email to AP saying it was “mistake” made by
“scriveners,” an old term for transcribers of legal papers.
Kathleen Clark, an expert in government ethics, said any excuses are too
late because the Trumps had already tipped their hand.
“They just deleted the language. They haven’t committed not to do what
they said earlier today they were planning to do," said the Washington
University law professor and Trump critic. "It's an attempt to exploit
public office for private profit.”
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President Donald Trump cuts the ribbon, standing between Donald
Trump Jr., left, and Eric Trump, during an opening ceremony for the
Trump International Golf Links golf course, near Aberdeen, Scotland,
Tuesday, July 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
 New America is what’s know as a
special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. It’s a publicly traded
company that exists solely to use its funds to acquire another
company and take the target public.
New America plans to raise money by selling new stock on the New
York Stock Exchange at $10 a share. That will hand the two Trump
sons a potential total of $50 million in paper wealth the moment the
stock begins trading on the first day. The company hopes to sell
enough shares to raise $300 million, which it then plans to use
buying a yet unidentified manufacturer.
A press release issued by New America saying it was focused on
“American values and priorities." It made no mention of the aim to
get government incentives.
The filing to New America's potential new investors to the
Securities and Exchange Commission was explicit about what it was
looking for in a target company. It said, among other things, it
wanted a company that can ride “public policy tailwinds" by
benefiting from federal or state “grants, tax credits, government
contracts or preferential procurement programs.”
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