- Donald Trump’s longtime teleprompter operator has been placed on administrative leave, the White House announced, following reports that he used his position to win $100,000 by placing bets on the president’s speeches using the online Kalshi.
- The White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, described the situation as deeply unfortunate and frankly a disgrace, stating that the president had been informed about the matter.
- Leavitt confirmed that the employee had been placed on unpaid administrative leave and that another person would operate Trump’s teleprompter during Thursday night’s address to the nation on election integrity.
- Gabriel Perez, the employee in question, is reportedly negotiating with federal regulators regarding allegations that he used advance knowledge of the president’s speeches to generate more than $100,000 in winnings.
- It has been reported that Perez earned more than $90,000 from the trades under investigation, although those profits have since been frozen.
- Perez has been working as a technical assistant to the president since 2016, operating Trump’s teleprompter.
- The betting activity reportedly centered on Kalshi’s “mentions” market, where participants can place bets on whether certain words, topics, or phrases will be said during a public speech.
- Kalshi detected unusual betting patterns and alerted the CFTC, the federal agency responsible for overseeing prediction markets.
- Kalshi’s head of enforcement, Robert DeNault, stated that they are cooperating and assisting regulators regarding the flagged trades.
- The investigation into Perez comes as the Department of Justice has begun pursuing its first insider trading prosecutions tied to prediction markets.
Gabriel Perez, a teleprompter operator for President Trump since 2016, has been placed on unpaid administrative leave following allegations of insider betting. Reports indicate he used his position to earn over $100,000 by wagering on the content of Trump’s speeches via the online platform Kalshi.1346
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt described the situation as “deeply unfortunate and frankly a disgrace,” confirming that the president was informed. The investigation began after Kalshi detected unusual betting patterns and alerted the CFTC, the federal agency overseeing prediction markets. Sources revealed that Perez earned more than $90,000 from the trades under scrutiny, although those profits have since been frozen.258
The betting activity reportedly focused on Kalshi’s “mentions” market, where users bet on whether specific words or phrases will be spoken during public addresses. Leavitt emphasized the White House's strict ethical guidelines regarding such matters, stating that another operator would handle the teleprompter during Trump’s upcoming address on election integrity. The investigation coincides with the Department of Justice pursuing its first insider trading prosecutions related to prediction markets, raising concerns about ethical conduct within the administration.710
“The operator, Gabriel Perez, used advance knowledge of Trump's speeches to win over $100,000 on Kalshi's prediction market, and Kalshi's surveillance team flagged the trades to the CFTC. The investigation coincides with the DOJ's first insider trading prosecutions tied to prediction markets.”
The Guardian
