The White House announced Thursday that Gabriel Perez, a veteran teleprompter operator for President Donald Trump, has been placed on unpaid leave. The action follows reports that Perez allegedly used advance knowledge of the president's remarks to place wagers on the prediction market platform Kalshi. According to reports from ABC News, Perez is accused of winning more than $100,000 by betting on specific phrases used in major addresses, including the State of the Union.
Kalshi's head of enforcement, Robert Denault, confirmed that the platform's surveillance team flagged and investigated suspicious trades before referring the matter to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Kalshi policy prohibits users from placing bets based on non-public information obtained through their employment. While Denault did not name Perez specifically, he stated the firm is cooperating with federal regulators.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that the administration maintains strict ethical guidelines and that the president is aware of the situation. The incident occurs amid ongoing public scrutiny regarding the president's own financial disclosures, which recently showed $1.2 billion in income from cryptocurrency ventures. Leavitt previously stated that the president abides by all applicable conflict-of-interest laws.