Anna Paulina Luna invests big in top political donor’s ‘America First’ energy company

Anna Paulina Luna ran for Congress in 2022 on the slogan “American Oil from American Soil,” pledging to increase the country’s domestic energy production and curb the export of American oil.

She’s now invested a significant chunk of her own money to help support that vision.

Luna, a conservative Republican seeking re-election to her St. Petersburg-area seat, disclosed in May that she had invested between $200,000 and $450,000 in America First Natural Resources LLC, a company created by a political supporter that aims to produce oil and gas in the United States.

For Luna, an Air Force veteran who entered politics after working at the conservative nonprofit Turning Point USA, the investment represents more than half the value of the assets she listed on her last financial disclosure form, which covered her finances through the end of 2023.

Luna’s office and campaign didn’t respond to questions about the investment.

While the name appears to be an homage to former President Donald Trump, who endorsed Luna in her successful 2022 run, it isn’t clear whether it has any connection to the former president.

It is, however, the brainchild of one of Luna’s top political supporters, Bruce Rosenthal, a St. Petersburg-area investment banker with a background in oil and gas.

Rosenthal has given more than $40,000 since 2020 to political committees supporting Luna. He’s given more than $330,000 in political donations overall in that time period, largely to Luna’s fellow members of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus and political groups supporting them.

While there is no prohibition on members of Congress doing business with their political supporters, ethics experts say it raises questions about whether the politician in question got any special treatment, or could use their official position to help boost profits for the company, and themselves.

“Anytime you overlay a campaign donation with financial activities of a member of congress, it’s a combustible cocktail,” said Meredith McGehee, former executive director of Issue One, a nonprofit organization which seeks to reduce the influence of money in politics.

Luna sits on the House Natural Resources Committee and the House Oversight Committee’s subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy Policy and Regulatory Affairs.

It wouldn’t be a conflict of interest for Luna to vote on issues that might benefit America First Natural Resources, so long as the legislation would benefit all domestic producers of energy, said Kedric Payne, a former attorney at the Office of Congressional Ethics and the senior director of ethics at the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center.

“The one thing you’re looking for is any actions beyond voting,” Payne said. “That could be introducing legislation or lobbying the EPA or any other executive branch agency.”

Even then, Payne said, such activities aren’t necessarily prohibited, but occupy a “gray area.”

It doesn’t appear as though Luna has taken any such actions that would benefit the company.

There has been increased scrutiny in recent years of the financial holdings of members of Congress and whether they use their inside information to benefit themselves financially.

Former North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr, a Republican, was investigated by both the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission over a series of what the Justice Department called “well-timed” stock trades that Burr made in 2020 after classified briefings he received about the emerging threat of COVID-19. Both agencies ultimately declined to charge Burr.

Several members of Congress have since introduced bills that would ban members of Congress from holding or selling stocks, though those efforts haven’t gained traction.

America First Natural Resources was first registered last October in Nevada. Rosenthal declined to say how much money the company has raised so far and whether any other politicians have invested in it.

Rosenthal said the energy company’s goal is to “develop and produce long life reserves of oil and natural gas at a low cost.”

He said that the company plans to use 3D seismic technology, which uses sound waves, to identify untapped oil and gas buried under existing drilling sites and said the company has already made investments in several Texas sites on private land.

Rosenthal said that the company’s financial mission aligns with his political viewpoints and that he hopes increased domestic production will eliminate the need for the U.S. to import oil and gas from geopolitical foes such as Venezuela, Iran and Russia.

“If we go back to true energy dominance, there’s almost nothing else we can’t do,” he said.