A White House teleprompter operator is under investigation by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), a US federal regulator, for allegedly profiting from Kalshi prediction market wagers linked to Donald Trump’s speeches.
The accused, Gabriel Perez, who has worked as a teleprompter operator at the White House since 2016, allegedly placed bets on words that the US President would use during major public addresses, including the address, ABC News reported.
Here’s what we know
said it froze over $90,000 in profits held in a customer’s account after the trader allegedly relied on confidential information to make over $100,000 from bets placed on the exchange.
It later alerted the CFTC, the regulator that views the platform as a derivatives exchange under the agency’s jurisdiction, regarding the suspicious activity on its “Mentions” market, where users place bets on whether specific words, phrases, or topics are likely to be uttered during a speech.
Apart from the address in February, CFTC investigators also discovered that Perez made several bets on more than a dozen of Trump’s speeches over three months. This includes a bet on the December primetime address, a January speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, and his remarks in March at a Medal of Honor ceremony.
Bobby DeNault, Kalshi’s head of enforcement, said, “Our surveillance team promptly flagged and referred these trades to the CFTC after an exchange investigation. We have been assisting regulators on this matter and provided evidence we collected, as we do in any referral.”
“Deeply unfortunate”: White House Press Secretary
In a briefing on Thursday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that believes the incident is “deeply unfortunate and frankly a disgrace,” adding that the employee was put on unpaid administrative leave, without naming him. She added that she was unaware of any other White House staffers who have engaged in such trades.
White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said, “The White House has strict ethics guidelines that we expect all staffers and officials to follow.”
Earlier in March, the White House issued an internal memo warning its staff against using confidential information to make bets on prediction markets, ABC reported.
Who is Gabriel Perez?
Perez has been Trump’s teleprompter operator since his first . He is considered one of Trump’s most trusted aides and is typically the last person to review nearly all of the US President’s prepared remarks. He is also known to incorporate last-minute changes dictated by Trump. He has previously faced scrutiny from congressional and federal investigators over revisions made to Trump’s remarks before his speech related to the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.
US soldier arrested for betting on Venezuela President’s removal
Earlier in April, the Trump administration ordered the arrest of a , Gannon Ken Van Dyke, after he allegedly placed bets on the removal of former Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro before the information was made public. Dyke, who participated in the military operation to capture Maduro, allegedly earned more than $400,000 by placing trades on Polymarket using classified information about the timing of Maduro’s arrest.
Prediction markets explode since Trump’s comeback
According to a Bloomberg report, prediction markets have exploded into a multibillion-dollar industry since Trump returned to the White House for a second term. His family has also entered the prediction market space, with Donald Trump Jr. serving as an adviser to both Kalshi and Polymarket.
As prediction market trading surges, concerns over insider trading have intensified, with critics warning that people with privileged information could use it to profit. Some contracts, including those tied to potential military action and others resembling bets on assassinations, have also drawn criticism.
