A Trump Teleprompter Operator Allegedly Used Kalshi to Bet on the President’s Speeches. Federal Regulators Took Notice.

A longtime White House staffer who has operated President Donald Trump's teleprompter for nearly a decade has been placed on unpaid administrative leave after he allegedly used insider knowledge to make more than $100,000 through prediction market bets.

According to an ABC News report, Gabriel Perez, a technical assistant who has worked as Trump's teleprompter operator since the 2016 presidential campaign, is negotiating a settlement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) over allegations that he repeatedly wagered on the content of Trump's speeches using nonpublic information obtained through his job.

The investigation centers on his use of Kalshi, a federally regulated prediction market platform that allows users to bet on real-world events. One of its products, known as the "Mentions" market, lets participants wager on whether a public figure will say certain words or discuss specific topics during a speech.

Sources familiar with the investigation told the outlet that Perez allegedly placed bets on more than a dozen Trump speeches over three months, including the president's State of the Union address in February, a January speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, a Medal of Honor ceremony in March, and other public appearances.

The suspicious trading activity was reportedly detected by Kalshi's internal surveillance systems, prompting the company to notify its regulator. "Our surveillance team promptly flagged and referred these trades to the CFTC, and we are cooperating and assisting regulators," Kalshi's lead lawyer, Bobby DeNault, said in a statement to ABC News.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed Thursday that Perez has been placed on unpaid administrative leave following publication of the report. She said President Trump personally approved the decision after being briefed on the allegations.

"The White House has strict ethics guidelines that we expect all staffers and officials to follow," White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said to ABC. The CFTC declined to comment on the ongoing investigation.

Perez's position gave him unusual access to the president's prepared remarks before they became public. According to ABC News, he often reviewed nearly every speech before delivery and frequently received last-minute edits directly from Trump, who is known for revising prepared remarks moments before taking the stage.

That access allegedly allowed Perez to place informed bets on whether Trump would mention specific words or topics. Investigators also reportedly discovered instances in which Perez withdrew wagers during speeches after Trump skipped portions of prepared remarks containing words he had bet would be spoken.

Trump himself has often joked about how frequently he departs from prepared scripts.
"You know, when you go up here, you take a big chance, especially me because I go off teleprompter about 80% of the time," Trump said during remarks to the Detroit Economic Club in January, one of the speeches investigators believe Perez wagered on.

According to ABC News, Perez acknowledged some of the trades during an interview with regulators. While the CFTC has discussed a civil settlement that would require him to surrender his profits and agree not to engage in similar conduct, federal prosecutors in Manhattan reportedly declined to pursue criminal charges after being notified of the investigation.

Kalshi's rules prohibit users from placing bets using confidential information obtained through their employment. Last month, the company strengthened its compliance procedures by requiring users to disclose their employers.

"If you have information by virtue of your job or your employment, something that you have a legal duty surrounding, and you have an obligation not to take that, misappropriate it for yourself," DeNault told ABC News in May.

Federal authorities have begun scrutinizing insider trading on prediction markets. The Justice Department recently brought what it described as its first criminal cases involving prediction market insider trading, including allegations against a U.S. Special Forces soldier accused of betting on the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro using nonpublic information and a Google employee accused of using internal search data to place wagers. Both defendants have pleaded not guilty.