DOJ says it's not investigating Anna Paulina Luna for alleged insider trading

Shauna Muckle, Tampa Bay Times on Aug 3, 2026

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GOP Rep. Anna Paulina Luna on Monday publicized a letter from the Department of Justice that says the department has not investigated her for allegations involving insider trading in prediction markets.

Luna has for weeks strenuously denied a July Wall Street Journal report in which an unnamed source alleged that Luna said she shared insider information, divulging President Donald Trump’s pick for vice president to a GOP influencer.

“Let’s set the record straight: This disgusting attempt to politically smear me fell flat on its face because it was based on lies,” Luna posted on X Monday. “I was never under investigation and the @WSJ reported false information based on one ‘anonymous source’ and then cherry picked my quote to spin their own fake narrative."

According to the Journal’s anonymous source, Luna said Rogan O’Handley, known online as DC Draino, used her tip to place a winning bet on Polymarket, a political betting platform. Another unnamed source cited by the outlet said O’Handley, too, had mentioned using Luna’s information to place a bet.

A third unnamed source who spoke to the Journal said the Commodity Futures Trading Commission was investigating those claims.

Luna on Monday posted the letter from the Justice Department, dated July 22 and written by Associate Deputy Attorney General Diego Pestana. He said any criminal referrals from the trading commission are sent to the Justice Department, but in this case the department never received a referral based on the allegations against Luna. This meant the department had never investigated this matter, he said.

The trading commission did not immediately respond to questions from the Tampa Bay Times about its investigation process and whether that agency is, or has ever, investigated Luna for allegations of insider trading.

“False accusations are not a substitute for evidence,” Luna told Axios, which was first to report on the letter. Spokesperson David Leatherwood did not respond to the Times’ inquiries Monday, but he sent a link to Luna’s post on X.

A Luna spokesperson previously told the Wall Street Journal that Luna filed a criminal complaint with the trading commission, alleging that someone knowingly made false reports to the agency. In her post Monday, Luna wrote that “the person who made these false allegations has now been referred for criminal investigation.”

“Abusing our justice system for political or personal gain is disgusting, lowlife behavior, and no one should ignore the damage that knowingly false accusations can inflict on an individual’s reputation, career, and family,” Luna told Axios.

O’Handley also denied to Axios that he ever received inside information from Luna.

After the Tampa Bay Times published two stories — one summarizing the initial Wall Street Journal report, and one explaining how political betting markets work — lawyers for Luna sent a cease and desist letter to this newspaper.

“Rep. Luna is not, and has never been, under investigation by the CFTC in connection with this or any related allegations,” wrote Charles Spies and Dahlyn Sugrue, lawyers who represent Luna.

The Times previously published Luna’s denials that she is under investigation and attributed all claims to the Wall Street Journal’s sources. The Journal has not issued a correction for their story.

The letter demands that the Times remove the two articles online, “issue a formal retraction and apology clearly stating that there is no evidence that Rep. Luna engaged in insider trading or is under investigation by the CFTC or DOJ,” and cease republication of the claims.

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