White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed Thursday that a teleprompter operator accused of placing wagers on President Trump’s public remarks has been suspended from duty pending an investigation.
“The individual that was cited in that report is complying with the CFTC and has been placed on administrative leave,” Leavitt told reporters during the daily press briefing. She said Trump had been briefed on the matter and described his reaction as calling it “deeply unfortunate and, frankly, a disgrace.”
The suspension comes after the prediction market platform Kalshi disclosed it had flagged suspicious trades tied to Trump’s speeches to federal regulators. Robert DeNault, Kalshi’s head of enforcement and legal counsel, said in a social media post that the company’s surveillance team “promptly flagged, investigated and referred these trades to the CFTC.” He added that Kalshi has been cooperating with regulators and provided all collected evidence.
According to ABC News, the employee is Gabriel Perez, a longtime Trump aide first hired in 2016. Perez is reportedly in settlement talks with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission over allegations he used nonpublic knowledge of the president’s remarks to place bets on Kalshi. The CFTC has increasingly scrutinized political prediction markets for potential insider trading.
Leavitt noted that a different teleprompter operator will handle Trump’s primetime address to the nation scheduled for Thursday evening. The White House did not provide further details on the timeline of the alleged betting activity or the specific trades involved.
The incident has drawn attention to the growing intersection of political access and financial markets. Kalshi, which offers contracts on political outcomes, has faced questions about how it monitors for insider trading. The platform’s rapid referral to the CFTC suggests it is taking a proactive stance amid heightened regulatory interest.
In recent months, the CFTC has signaled a tougher line on political event contracts, arguing they can be vulnerable to manipulation. This case, involving a White House staffer with direct knowledge of presidential speeches, is likely to intensify calls for tighter oversight. As one political insider put it, the episode underscores how even routine White House operations can become entangled with financial speculation.
For now, the White House is seeking to distance itself from the controversy while the investigation proceeds. Leavitt declined to answer further questions about Perez’s employment history or the specific bets, citing the ongoing CFTC inquiry.
