DOJ Says It Never Opened Investigation Into Rep. Anna Paulina Luna Over Polymarket Tip

Overview

• The Justice Department told Luna’s attorneys in a July 22 letter that it never had an open criminal investigation into allegations she tipped an influencer about President Trump’s 2024 vice presidential pick.
• The Wall Street Journal reported on July 18 that Luna told associates at a summer 2024 Tampa lunch she knew J.D. Vance would be picked and that she alerted MAGA influencer Rogan O’Handley, who then placed a successful bet on Polymarket.
• Luna has denied the account, called the report a political smear, sent cease-and-desist letters to outlets including the Tampa Bay Times, and threatened legal action against those she says repeated false claims.
• O’Handley has also denied receiving or trading on nonpublic information about the vice presidential pick and dismissed the Journal’s story as false.
• The dispute leaves an ongoing Commodity Futures Trading Commission review of prediction-market betting by Washington insiders as the next focal point and renews questions about the use of anonymous sources and rules for lawmakers trading on political information.