Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., reportedly says the Department of Justice has confirmed it never opened a criminal investigation into allegations that she shared advance information about President Donald Trump’s 2024 vice presidential selection with a conservative social media influencer.
Luna released a letter from the Justice Department on Monday that she said clears her of claims stemming from a July 18 Wall Street Journal report involving influencer Rogan O’Handley, who is widely known online as “DC Draino.”
The Journal reported that Luna had allegedly informed O’Handley before the public announcement that Trump had selected Sen. JD Vance as his running mate. According to the report, that information allegedly enabled O’Handley to place a successful wager on the prediction platform Polymarket.
Both Luna and O’Handley denied the allegations.
According to the Journal, O’Handley said he did not receive or trade on confidential information. Luna also rejected the claims, saying she did not know Trump’s decision ahead of time and quipping that she was not “telepathic.”
Seeking to rebut the allegations, Luna posted a July 22 letter from Associate Deputy Attorney General Diego Pestana, saying it was intended to “set the record straight.”
The Florida congresswoman described the allegations against her as a “smear” and argued the Justice Department’s correspondence demonstrates that reports of a criminal investigation were unfounded.
Luna also made an additional claim regarding the source of the allegations.
“The person who made these false allegations has now been referred for criminal investigation because making false accusations to a federal agency is a crime,” she wrote.
The letter released by Luna states that the Department of Justice “at no point had an open investigation” into allegations that she engaged in criminal conduct.
According to the letter, that included claims involving alleged insider trading connected to prediction markets.
The Justice Department also addressed reports concerning the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which had reportedly been examining the allegations.
According to the letter, the department never received a criminal referral from the CFTC regarding Luna.
“In the instance of Rep. Luna, no such referral was made,” the letter states. “Thus, the Department never had an open investigation into this matter.”
The correspondence directly disputes suggestions that the Justice Department had been actively investigating the Florida lawmaker over the allegations tied to Trump’s vice presidential selection.
The controversy originated after the Wall Street Journal reported on claims that Luna had shared advance information about Trump’s decision to select Vance as his running mate before the announcement became public.
Both Luna and O’Handley have consistently denied any wrongdoing.
Separately, Axios reported Monday that Luna’s legal team has demanded the Tampa Bay Times remove two articles published in July, issue a retraction, and preserve reporting materials in anticipation of possible litigation.
Luna’s release of the Justice Department letter marks her latest effort to push back against the allegations, arguing that federal officials never opened a criminal investigation into the matter and that reports suggesting otherwise were inaccurate.
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