Luna Slams Prosecution of Insider-Trading Soldier While Congress Members Act With Impunity

Some Republican members of Congress are calling on President Trump to pardon a soldier accused of using insider knowledge about the raid to remove the Venezuelan leader, Nicolas Maduro, unless the Department of Justice prosecutes lawmakers accused of insider trading. On Thursday, federal prosecutors unsealed an indictment against an Army special forces soldier involved in planning the Maduro raid, Gannon Ken Van Dyke, accusing him of using insider knowledge to make more than $400,000 by placing a bet on Polymarket about when the Venezuelan leader would be removed from power. The indictment appears to be the first time that federal prosecutors have brought criminal charges against someone over their activity on a prediction market. But some Republican members of Congress want President Trump to pardon Mr. Van Dyke. Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna posted on X, “Maybe not a popular take but I am calling for this guy to be pardoned. Unless the DOJ plans on going after all the crooks in congress currently insider trading, this is simply skewed justice. There is no ‘justice’ when guys like this get the book thrown at him yet members are illegally profiting every day.”In a video posted on X, Ms. Luna shared a post that suggested that the defendant did not “bet on the raid” but instead “placed bets on Maduro being out of office by a date in the future.” The post argued that those bets did not disclose classified information. In a direct response, General Mike Flynn posted saying he respects Congresswoman Luna’s logic but that “for those who serve in the military … we hold ourselves to a much higher standard than those in Congress.” He added that the service member had “placed military lives at severe risk with his foolish decisions” and should face “very severe punishment.”Congressman Jimmy Patronis agreed with Ms. Luna, writing, “I think this guy should be pardoned. If the DOJ isn’t prepared to go after every member of Congress who’s profiting off insider trading, then this feels like selective enforcement, not justice.”Mr. Patronis said he believes Mr. Van Dyke “should absolutely have to give back every dollar he made.”“But holding one person accountable while others get a pass undermines the idea of equal justice under the law. @POTUS should make this decision at his discretion not the DOJ,” he said. Ms. Luna is a vocal critic of congressional stock trading, arguing that members have used insider knowledge to reap fortunes. She has led a push to ban congressional stock trading. According to a watchdog group, Common Cause, the 258 members of Congress who own stock made more than $635 million from stock trading in 2025. In recent months, federal officials have turned their attention to prediction markets such as Polymarket and have raised questions about whether bettors are violating insider trading laws. Members of Congress have also expressed concern that traders may be using insider knowledge about planned military operations to turn profits, potentially putting those operations at risk. Those concerns were renewed after reports surfaced that someone had made more than $400,000 by placing a bet on when Mr. Maduro would be removed from power, days before the operation that led to his capture took place. Last month, users placed bets on which day a weapons system officer from an F-15E Strike Eagle that was downed over Iran would be rescued. The Justice Department said in a press release on Thursday that Mr. Van Dyke was responsible for the $400,000 bet, which garnered media attention after the Maduro operation. Prosecutors say Mr. Van Dyke was involved in planning the Venezuela operation and “used sensitive classified information to make wagers on Polymarket.”The Justice Department says that his involvement in planning the operation began “around” December 8, and that around December 26, he opened a Polymarket account and made 13 bets on when Mr. Maduro would be ousted and whether there would be American forces in Venezuela. Prosecutors say Mr. Van Dyke bet roughly $33,034 on those outcomes and walked away with more than $410,000 after the January 3 operation in Venezuela. He then allegedly tried to cover his tracks by sending his proceeds to a foreign cryptocurrency account and depositing them into a brokerage account.Suspiciously timed trades have continued through the war in Iran. On March 23, anonymous traders placed $500 million on a drop in oil prices; those bets were made roughly 15 minutes before Mr. Trump delayed his threatened attacks on Iranian energy infrastructure. And on April 7, traders placed bets worth $950 million hours before Mr. Trump announced a two-week ceasefire. During an event at the White House, Mr. Trump said he is “not happy” about reports of people using insider information to place bets. “I was never much in favor of it. I don’t like it, conceptually. But it is what it is. No, I think that I’m not happy with any of that stuff, but they have all these different sites. They have predictive markets. It’s a crazy world,” he said. The White House did not respond to the Sun’s request for comment by the time of publication.

Luna Slams Prosecution of Insider-Trading Soldier While Congress Members Act With Impunity

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