Representative Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) has called for a presidential pardon of a soldier who helped plan the capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and used his insider information to make $400,000 on an online betting site.
| PULSE POINTS |
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: Representative Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) called for the pardon of active duty soldier Gannon Ken van Dyke following the announcement of his arrest this week. Van Dyke had profited around $400,000 from betting on the fall of former Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, using insider knowledge he gained while he was part of the planning for Operation Absolute Resolve. 📺 DETAIL: Rep. Luna argues Van Dyke should be pardoned because politicians in Congress are profiting from insider trading daily without punishment, although she acknowledges that Van Dyke’s actions were wrong and called for his winnings to be disgorged. “There is no ‘justice,’ when guys like this get the book thrown at him yet members are illegally profiting every day,” she wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday. The Department of Justice (DOJ) released a statement earier the same day saying Van Dyke used the betting platform Polymarket to make bets on the date of the fall of Maduro, starting around December 26. Maduro was captured by the U.S. forces on January 3. If not pardoned, Van Dyke could face up to 60 years in prison on all charges and have all of his winnings seized. 💬 KEY QUOTE: “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.” – Rep. Anna Paulina Luna. 🎯 IMPACT: A presidential pardon would likely be opposed by the Pentagon, in case the encouragement of large-scale bets on military operations undermined their secrecy. However, Luna’s is in line with her previous calls to end the ability of lawmakers to use their positions for insider trading, and her intervention may reenergize the movement in favor of reform. |
The DOJ has made it clear that Members of Congress are above the law.
Until there is real accountability, DOJ = Department of JAIL FOR YOU NOT FOR THEM. pic.twitter.com/GtbtgHpWwu
— Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (@RepLuna) April 24, 2026
Join Pulse+ to comment below, and receive exclusive e-mail analyses.