White House fires teleprompter operator who made more than $90,000 placing bets on Trump speeches: Details

The White House teleprompter operator is being investigated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the US federal regulator, for allegedly profiting from bets on the Kalshi prediction market linked to US President Donald Trump’s speeches.

The accused, Gabriel Perez, who has worked as a teleprompter at the White House since 2016, allegedly made bets on the words the US president would use during major public speeches, including the State of the Union address, ABC News reported.

Here’s what we know

Kalshi said it froze over $90,000 in profits held in a customer account after the trader allegedly relied on confidential information to make more than $100,000 from bets placed on the exchange.

It later alerted the CFTC, a regulator that views the platform as a derivatives exchange under the agency’s jurisdiction, about suspicious activity on its “Mentions” market, where users place bets on whether specific words, phrases or topics are likely to be heard during a speech.

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In addition to the State of the Union address in February, CFTC investigators also found that Perez placed multiple bets on more than a dozen Trump speeches over a three-month period. That includes a bet on the Prime Minister’s speech in December, a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January and his remarks at the Medal of Honor ceremony in March.

Bobby DeNault, head of enforcement at Kalshi, said: “Our surveillance team immediately flagged and referred these trades to the CFTC following the exchange’s investigation. We assisted regulators in this matter and provided the evidence we collected, as we do with any referral.”

‘Deeply unhappy’: White House press secretary

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a briefing Thursday that Donald Trump believes the incident is “deeply unfortunate and frankly shameful,” adding that the staffer has been placed on unpaid administrative leave, without naming him. She added that she was not aware of any other White House staffers involved in such deals.

White House spokesman Davis Ingle said: “The White House has strict ethical guidelines that we expect of all staff and officials.”

In early March, the White House released an internal memo warning its staff against using confidential information to place bets on prediction markets, ABC reported.

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Who is Gabriel Perez?

Perez has been Trump’s teleprompter operator since his first presidential campaign. He is considered one of Trump’s most trusted aides and is usually the last person to review nearly all of the US president’s prepared remarks. He is also known for implementing 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.

American soldier arrested for betting to oust Venezuelan president

In early April, the Trump administration ordered the arrest of Gannon trooper Ken Van Dyke after he allegedly placed bets on the removal of former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro before the information was made public. Dyke, who was involved in a military operation to capture Maduro, allegedly made more than $400,000 by trading on Polymarket using classified information about the timing of Maduro’s arrest.

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Prediction markets explode since Trump’s comeback

According to a Bloomberg report, prediction markets have grown into a multibillion-dollar industry since Trump returned to the White House for a second term. His family has also entered the prediction markets space, with Donald Trump Jr. serves as a consultant for both Kalshi and Polymarket.

As predictive trading has grown in the market, concerns about insider trading have grown, 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 assassination bets, have also drawn criticism.