Representatives for Florida Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna issued a cease-and-desist letter to Democratic challenger Leela Gray and her campaign over claims Luna “gave inside information to a donor” in a political advertisement published on Grey's "X" account this week.
The advertisement also cites the Tampa Bay Times as a source for the claim.
The letter says the following regarding the matter.
"Your advertisement is false. It is also demonstrably not supported by the source it cites, which is a source your Advertisement materially alters in order to manufacture the accusation it makes," it states.
"We write further regarding related false statements you have made on your social media and in broadcast interviews asserting that Rep. Luna enriched herself while in office, and trades stock. These statements are also verifiably false and are refuted by her publicly available financial disclosures," it continues. "We demand that you immediately cease and desist from any further publication, broadcast, distribution, or promotion of the Advertisement, claims that she has gotten “rich” while in office, claims that she sells stock, or any similar false claims."
Moreover, the letter goes on to assert Grey's cited the Tampa Bay Times article “Anna Paulina Luna had insider info, may have helped influencer make the bet" with the qualifier “may have” refrained from the post.
"That deletion is not a stylistic change. It is the difference between a hedged report of an unverified allegation and an affirmative assertion of fact," the letter continues. "Your Advertisement now represents to voters that a named news organization has reported as established fact something
that the organization declined to report as established fact. Whatever protection might attach to imputation of another's reporting is forfeited by the decision to misquote it."
The letter also refutes the advertisement's claim of said donor as Rogan O'Handley, who is indicated in the Times report as a commentator and social media figure and not a donor to Rep. Luna or her campaign.
"Your Advertisement thus does not merely repeat an unproven allegation; it invents an additional and more serious one, and falsely attributes it to a named news organization," the letter states.
"To be clear, Rep. Luna did not share material nonpublic information with Mr. O’Handley or with any other person, and did not facilitate any wager on Polymarket or any other prediction market. She has denied the allegation on the record from the outset. Mr. O’Handley, the only other named participant in the supposed exchange, has likewise denied it on the record," it adds.
Rep. Luna is not under investigation by the United States Department of Justice from the allegations, the letter specifics.
In addition, the letter denies claims by Grey and her campaign Luna "got rich" in office from trading stocks. Luna introduced a ban on congressional stock trading last year.
"Those statements are false, and they are directly refuted by public records that you are obligated to consult before making easily verifiable claims," the letter states.
Counsel for Rep. Luna is asking Grey to remove the advertisement and any other posts containing "false or defamatory information" on the claim and a formal retraction and apology denying her involvement in insider trading, trading stocks, or "got rich" in office, and any further publication on the claims within one day of the letter's issue on Sept. 17.
