White House Teleprompter Operator Suspended Over Alleged Insider Trading on Kalshi Prediction Markets

President Donald Trump’s longtime teleprompter operator, Gabriel Perez, has been placed on unpaid administrative leave amid a Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) investigation into allegations that he used inside knowledge of the president’s speeches to profit on the prediction-market platform Kalshi.

According to multiple sources, Perez—whose official title is deputy assistant to the president and technical advisor—made trades on Kalshi’s “Mentions” market, where users bet on whether specific words, phrases or topics will be uttered during a public appearance. The CFTC investigation, triggered after Kalshi flagged suspicious trading patterns in March, found that Perez placed bets on more than a dozen Trump speeches over a roughly three-month period. Those included the February State of the Union address, a December primetime address, a January speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, and Trump’s March remarks at a Medal of Honor ceremony. Sources told ABC News and other outlets that Perez profited by more than $90,000 (some reports put the figure above $100,000), though Kalshi froze most of those gains after its surveillance team identified the activity.

Kalshi’s head of enforcement, Robert DeNault, stated: “Our surveillance team promptly flagged and referred these trades to the CFTC, and we are cooperating and assisting regulators.” The company said its internal monitoring uncovered that the account holder worked for the federal government and served as a teleprompter operator. Kalshi has since updated its policies to require users to disclose their employer.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Trump himself decided to place Perez on unpaid leave, calling the matter “deeply unfortunate and, frankly, a disgrace.” White House spokesperson Davis Ingle added, “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 staff against using nonpublic information for prediction-market bets, stating that such misconduct “will not be tolerated.”

Perez, who has operated Trump’s teleprompter since the 2016 campaign, is among the highest-paid White House employees with a 2026 salary of $175,000. Sources said he has cooperated with the CFTC, sitting for an interview and acknowledging some of the trades. Investigators also found instances where Perez would cancel bets mid-speech when Trump skipped over a word he had wagered on. The CFTC has discussed a potential settlement with Perez that would require him to return profits and refrain from future similar trades, according to sources familiar with the talks. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan were alerted but declined to open a criminal case.

Broader Prediction-Market Scrutiny

The investigation of Perez is the first known instance of a White House employee being accused of insider trading on a prediction market, which have surged in popularity. The Department of Justice recently brought insider-trading cases against a U.S. Army master sergeant and a Google employee for alleged bets on Polymarket using nonpublic information. Separately, former congressman George Santos is under investigation for allegedly betting on his own State of the Union attendance, and several congressional candidates were fined for betting on their own races. The CFTC, under Trump-appointed chair Mike Selig, has pledged to crack down on insider trading in these markets.