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Trump ally accused of leaking insider info in betting market scheme: report
One of President Donald Trump's MAGA allies in Congress now finds herself embroiled in a betting market corruption scandal, with a new Wall Street Journal report alleging that she leaked insider information to a top influencer looking to bet on prediction markets.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, a Florida Republican, was among the names included in a new report from the Journal, detailing how prediction market betting has emerged as "the new Washington temptation." Trump's White House, in particular, has come under intense fire for allegations that administration members have been using undisclosed information about impending Trump decisions or speeches to make winning bets on platforms like Polymarket and Kalshi. Most recently, Trump's top teleprompter operator was suspended for placing bets on things that Trump would say in speeches, something he had both direct access to and control over.
Luna, meanwhile, was accused by the outlet's sources of bragging about tipping off a prominent MAGA influencer about Trump's running mate pick during the 2024 presidential campaign.
"Over lunch at the Stovall House, a popular members-only social club in Tampa, U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida told associates in the summer of 2024 that she knew Trump would choose Vance to be his vice president, according to a person familiar with the conversation. She said she had tipped off Rogan O’Handley, a popular MAGA influencer known as 'DC Draino,' about Trump’s pending decision so that he could use the information to place a winning bet on Polymarket, the person said. The congresswoman teased O’Handley, the person said, for not placing a bigger wager."
The report added: "O’Handley separately told associates that he was behind a long-shot attempt, mostly via social media, to get Trump to consider Luna as his running mate, according to a second person who heard O’Handley discuss the matter. When the congresswoman told O’Handley that Vance would get the nod instead, he placed a winning bet on Polymarket, the person said."
When asked about the allegation, Luna dismissed it and insisted that she would "continue to champion the fight against insider trading."
"I am honored the WSJ thinks I am telepathic but unfortunately I am not," Luna told the Journal in a statement.
O'Handley also forcefully denied the allegations, telling the outlet, "Any suggestion that I traded on confidential information or discussed doing so is inaccurate."
