Teleprompter Operator Accused of Betting on Trump Speeches

Gabriel Perez, who has run President Donald Trump’s teleprompter for about a decade, is accused of using advance knowledge of the president’s remarks to place bets on the prediction market Kalshi. The platform’s surveillance team flagged the trading activity and referred the matter to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

The trades reportedly took place over roughly three months and included a wager tied to a January speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. People familiar with the matter say Perez adjusted his positions when the president strayed from prepared text and at times withdrew bets during speeches. Authorities say the patterns matched specific lines and timing that would not be public until the remarks were delivered. The activity is alleged to have generated hundreds of thousands of dollars in gains.

Kalshi’s compliance systems identified the trades and notified regulators, according to the company. The CFTC declined to confirm or deny an inquiry into the referrals. Perez is reported to be in discussions with the agency about the activity under review.

The White House pointed to internal rules on staff conduct. Spokesperson Davis Ingle referenced the administration’s “strict ethics guidelines.” The White House did not provide additional comment on the pending regulatory discussions.

Prediction markets that allow users to wager on political events, economic data and public statements have grown in recent years. Lawmakers have proposed measures to bar certain government officials from placing bets tied to government actions, and the Senate has prohibited its members from trading on these platforms. Several market operators have also added monitoring and controls aimed at detecting insider activity.

Federal authorities have taken legal action in other cases involving nonpublic information used on prediction platforms. Investigations and prosecutions have included an active-duty service member arrested over a large wager tied to the political fate of a foreign leader and a tech company employee charged with using internal data to profit about $1.2 million on a prediction market.

Regulators are reviewing the referral from Kalshi while discussions with Perez continue.