House

Democrats urge Comer to subpoena prediction markets over suspicious trades

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by Max Rego - 05/11/26 5:00 PM ET

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by Max Rego - 05/11/26 5:00 PM ET

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A group of seven Democrats sent a letter on Monday to House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chair James Comer (R-K.Y.), asking him to issue subpoenas pursuant to an investigation into “suspicious” trades on prediction markets relating to the war with Iran.

Democratic Reps. Maggie Goodlander (N.H.), Sara Jacobs (Calif.), Seth Magaziner (R.I.), Seth Moulton (Mass.), Chris Pappas (N.H.), Dina Titus (Nev.) and Rashida Tlaib (Mich.) wrote to Comer that they are “deeply concerned that individuals with access to sensitive government information have used that access for personal financial gain.”

Of the seven, Tlaib is the lone member of the Oversight panel. The Hill has requested comment from the office of Comer, the committee’s chair since January 2023.

Last month, U.S. Army soldier Gannon Van Dyke was arrested and charged with using classified information about the operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to place bets on Polymarket regarding the mission. He allegedly made more than $400,000 in profits from the wagers, according to the Justice Department.

Polymarket and other online prediction markets, such as Kalshi, allow individuals to bet on the outcomes of real-life events, including sports games, election outcomes, daily stock and commodity price changes and geopolitical events.

The Democratic lawmakers referenced Van Dyke’s arrest, which they said, “illustrates the seriousness of the issue.” They also highlighted a CNN report from March that outlined how a single trader on Polymarket made nearly $1 million with a 93 percent success rate on wagers predicting unannounced U.S. and Israeli operations against Iran.

The trader reportedly placed bets hours before strikes in October 2024, June 2025 and February 2026.

“A separate group of 38 accounts netted more than $2 million on the February 28 strikes alone, after being preloaded with funds the preceding week,” the lawmakers added. “At least 50 newly created accounts placed coordinated bets on a U.S.-Iran ceasefire on April 7, some opened minutes before the announcement.

“Israeli authorities have separately indicted two individuals, including a military reservist, for placing Iran-related bets on Polymarket using classified information.”

Kalshi has been legal since 2020, when it was designated as a designated contract market by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission during the first Trump administration. Polymarket, meanwhile, became available in the U.S. last November, after a multi-year absence.

But Americans are still barred from using Polymarket Global, the platform’s offshore site. Yet the Democratic lawmakers wrote Monday that “some” of the suspicious trades were placed on Polymarket Global.

“The platform’s failure to implement meaningful identity verification or enforce restrictions on U.S. persons raises serious questions about its broader compliance with federal law,” they argued to Comer.

Last month, the Senate unanimously passed a resolution barring its members from trading on prediction markets. Earlier in April, the White House warned staff against using nonpublic information to trade on financial markets.

In March, Sens. John Curtis (R-Utah), Adam Schiff (D-Calif), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) and Todd Young (R-Ind.) also proposed legislation to crack down on insider trading on prediction markets. Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) introduced a bill in January that would ban members of Congress and federal government employees from placing political bets on prediction markets.

As for the letter to Comer, this is not the first time lawmakers have called on the Oversight chair to probe trades on prediction markets.

Democratic Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (Ill.), a senior member of the committee, called on the Kentucky Republican last month to convene a public hearing and launch an investigation into whether senior administration officials or individuals acting on their behalf traded on nonpublic operations related to the Iran conflict.

The latest letter from the seven Democrats argues that the American public “has a legitimate interest in knowing whether individuals entrusted with classified national security information have used that access for personal financial gain.”

They added, “Congress has both the authority and the responsibility to determine whether existing ethics, classification, and financial disclosure laws have been violated, and whether legislative action is necessary to prevent recurrence. We cannot fulfill that responsibility without knowing who placed these trades.”

The lawmakers asked that Comer respond to the letter by “outlinin