White House teleprompter operator accused over Trump bets no longer in job, official says

A White House teleprompter operator, Gabriel Perez, is no longer employed by the federal government. Perez had reportedly used inside knowledge gained from his job to make bets on the online prediction market Kalshi regarding Donald Trump's speeches. The White House confirmed earlier this month that Perez had been placed on unpaid leave following reports of his alleged insider trading, which could have resulted in over $100,000 in winnings. An official stated Perez "no longer works in the federal government" but declined to specify if he resigned or was fired. Kalshi's enforcement team had flagged and referred these trades to the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

A White House teleprompter operator, Gabriel Perez, is no longer employed by the federal government. This comes after reports that Perez allegedly used inside knowledge of President Donald Trump's speeches to make over $100,000 in bets on the prediction market Kalshi. The White House had previously placed Perez on unpaid leave following the ABC News report. A White House official confirmed Perez's departure but did not specify if he resigned or was fired. Kalshi stated its surveillance team flagged and referred the suspicious trades to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The platform prohibits betting based on job-related information.

Donald Trump's longtime teleprompter operator, Gabriel Perez, has been placed on unpaid administrative leave by the White House. This action follows reports that Perez allegedly used advance knowledge of presidential speeches to win over $100,000 by placing bets on the online prediction market Kalshi. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called the situation "deeply unfortunate and frankly a disgrace." Kalshi detected unusual betting patterns and alerted the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which is overseeing prediction markets. Perez, a technical assistant to the president since 2016, is reportedly negotiating with federal regulators regarding these allegations.

A White House teleprompter operator, Gabriel Perez, is under investigation for allegedly using inside knowledge of President Trump's speeches to make nearly $100,000 on the prediction market platform Kalshi. Perez reportedly placed bets on specific words the president would use during major addresses, including the State of the Union. Kalshi, which confirmed it reported the activity to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, noticed unusual betting patterns on "mention markets." The platform froze Perez's account, preventing the withdrawal of over $90,000 in profits, after identifying the user as a federal employee operating White House teleprompters.

A teleprompter operator for Donald Trump, Gabriel Perez, has been suspended and will no longer work at the White House. The suspension was ordered by the president due to allegations that Perez placed bets on the content of Trump's speeches using a prediction market platform called Kalshi. Federal regulators are investigating Perez for potential insider trading related to these bets. The White House Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, confirmed the unpaid administrative leave and subsequent termination of his employment.

Kalshi, a prediction market platform, is expanding its offerings to include betting on drug trial results and FDA regulatory decisions. The company aims to provide a public, continuously updated probability of outcomes, reflecting evidence rather than sponsor messaging, and to surface otherwise unreported trial information. This pilot program, developed in partnership with AppliedXL, faces scrutiny regarding potential market manipulation and insider trading, issues that have led to investigations of other public figures. Kalshi states it will implement employment verification and list contracts only after trial enrollment closes to mitigate these risks. The platform also recently explored contracts on flight cancellations, but has since paused that endeavor due to concerns.