White House teleprompter operator accused of insider bets on Trump speeches

Federal investigators allege Gabriel Perez, Donald Trump’s teleprompter operator since 2016, used inside information from Trump speeches to place profitable bets on Kalshi, turning the president’s prepared remarks into a trading edge. The White House placed Perez on unpaid leave as he entered settlement talks with federal regulators, while Kalshi froze about $90,000 of his profits and barred him from betting on the platform.

The allegations center on more than a dozen Trump speeches over roughly three months, including the State of the Union address and a primetime address. Perez was a technical assistant to the president, a role that put him close to the words before they were delivered publicly and available to ordinary bettors on the prediction market.

The alleged gains topped more than $90,000 in one estimate and more than $100,000 in another.

NPR called it the first known instance of officials investigating suspected insider trading on a prediction market from inside the White House.

Kalshi's surveillance team flagged the suspicious trades, investigated them and referred the matter to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The company also announced new security measures in June 2026, including employment-verification requirements for some markets, after coming under pressure over alleged insider betting. Earlier, Kalshi suspended three congressional candidates and imposed financial penalties after they traded on the platform.

The broader industry is now facing closer scrutiny as lawmakers question whether platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket can police users with privileged access to political information.