(José Niño, Headline USA) MAGA influencer Rogan O’Handley landed at the center of a widening Washington betting scandal this week after a viral Twitter post from Aaron Fritschner, deputy chief of staff to Representative Don Beyer, D-Va., spotlighted fresh reporting from The Wall Street Journal.
Fritschner wrote that “Congresswoman Ann Paulina Luna (R-FL) told people in the summer of 2024 that she tipped off Rogan O’Handley aka ‘DC Draino’ that Trump would pick Vance for VP so that he could make a winning bet on Polymarket, which he did.”
WSJ: Congresswoman Ann Paulina Luna (R-FL) told people in the summer of 2024 that she tipped off Rogan O’Handley aka “DC Draino” that Trump would pick Vance for VP so that he could make a winning bet on Polymarket, which he did:https://t.co/XRuhIZRFvQ pic.twitter.com/gAhGDWm1dl
— Aaron Fritschner (@Fritschner) July 18, 2026
O’Handley ranks among the most followed conservative voices online.
The WSJ traced the alleged tip to a summer 2024 lunch at the Stovall House, a members only social club in Tampa. A person who heard the conversation told the paper that Anna Paulina Luna said she already knew President Donald Trump would name JD Vance as his running mate. That same source said Luna claimed she passed the information to O’Handley, the commentator who built an enormous following as “DC Draino,” so he could turn it into a winning wager on the prediction platform Polymarket.
Luna even teased the influencer, the source recalled, for not putting more money on the line.
O’Handley’s own comments deepen the intrigue. He separately told associates that he ran a mostly online campaign nudging Trump to consider Luna herself for the number two slot, according to a second person who heard him describe it to the Journal. Once Luna revealed that Vance would get the nod instead, O’Handley placed his winning Polymarket bet, that person said.
Both figures forcefully reject the story. Reached by the WSJ, O’Handley denied receiving, trading on or even discussing nonpublic details of Trump’s choice. “Any suggestion that I traded on confidential information or discussed doing so is inaccurate,” he said in a statement. Luna proved equally dismissive, telling the paper, “l am honored the WSJ thinks I am telepathic but unfortunately I am not,” while pledging to “continue to champion the fight against insider trading.”
The fallout now reaches past bruised reputations. A third person familiar with the matter told the WSJ that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission is examining the allegation, though the outlet stressed that an investigation alone signals no wrongdoing. O’Handley said he knew nothing about any federal probe and again denied misconduct.
Luna has swung back hard. A spokesman said the congresswoman filed her own criminal complaint with the CFTC, arguing that someone knowingly submitted false reports to the agency.
José Niño is the deputy editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/JoseAlNino
