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Anna Paulina Luna Calls on Trump To Pardon Solider Indicted for Allegedly Betting on Maduro’s Ouster
Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) called on President Donald Trump to pardon the U.S. soldier indicted for allegedly betting on the ouster of former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
Master Sgt. Gannon Ken Van Dyke was directly involved in the operation that captured Maduro and his wife, a Manhattan federal court alleged in an indictment on Thursday. Van Dyke allegedly placed $33,000 worth of bets that the Venezuelan leader would be removed as president on Polymarket, betting a series of times up to the day Maduro was captured.
The indictment claims that Van Dyke placed thirteen bets on multiple events related to Maduro, including “bets on the timing and outcome” of the operation to remove him. The plays allegedly made him over $409,000, sparking an investigation into the suspiciously timed bets. Van Dyke attempted to hide his winnings through cryptocurrency and a brokerage account, going so far as to delete his Polymarket account by claiming he had lost access to the email the account was under.
Trump commented on the indictment Thursday, after being asked by press in the Oval Office if he was concerned about its implications for federal employees.
“Well, you know, the whole world, unfortunately, has become somewhat of a casino. And you look at what’s going on all over the world, in Europe, and every place, they’re doing these betting things. I was never much in favor of it. I don’t like it, conceptually,” he said. “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. It’s a much different world than it was.”
Luna urged the president to grant clemency to Van Dyke, posting on X that the indictment represented “skewed justice.”
“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,” she wrote. “There is no ‘justice’ when guys like this get the book thrown at him yet members are illegally profiting every day. I don’t agree with what he did and he should be required to disgorge all the profits however, unless the DOJ plans on doing Congress next, this is not justice.”
Rep. Jimmy Patronis (R-FL) agreed with his colleague, calling the move “selective enforcement” and reiterating Luna’s push for regulation on congressional stock trading.
“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,” he wrote. “I don’t support what he did, and he 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.”
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