White House teleprompter operator investigated over alleged Kalshi trades

Federal regulators are investigating a White House teleprompter operator for allegedly making trades on the prediction market Kalshi based on advance knowledge of President Trump's prepared speech texts.

The investigation is being conducted by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The teleprompter operator under investigation is identified as Gabriel Perez.

Perez allegedly placed bets on Kalshi 'mention markets' using information about Trump's planned remarks. The alleged trades included bets on the State of the Union address in February.

Exchange response and settlement talks

Kalshi's surveillance team flagged and referred the trades to the CFTC after an internal exchange investigation. Robert DeNault, Kalshi's head of enforcement, stated: 'Our surveillance team promptly flagged and referred these trades.'

Kalshi froze Perez's account after flagging his alleged bets, preventing him from capturing most of the profits. Kalshi did not identify the trader to Axios.

The CFTC has discussed terms of a settlement with Perez, which could include him giving back profits from the trades. Perez has been cooperating with the CFTC investigation.

Official responses

A CFTC spokesperson said the commission cannot confirm or deny the investigation. ABC News was the first to report the investigation.

White House spokesperson Davis Ingle stated: 'The White House has strict ethics guidelines that we expect all staffers to follow.' Ingle confirmed that the staffer in question is fully cooperating with the CFTC.

Efforts to reach Perez for comment through the White House were unsuccessful. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan reportedly declined to open a criminal investigation into the matter.