White House Teleprompter Operator Placed on Leave Amid Federal Probe Into Kalshi Bets

Gabriel Perez served as President Donald Trump's teleprompter operator and technical assistant since 2016, yet federal regulators now allege he leveraged that position to place bets on more than a dozen speeches through the Kalshi prediction market platform, which resulted in net winnings exceeding $100,000. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission launched the inquiry after transaction records raised red flags about timing and volume, and Perez has since been placed on unpaid leave while settlement discussions continue between his representatives and agency officials. Details released so far indicate the bets aligned closely with advance knowledge of speech schedules and content themes that were not yet public, although investigators have not released specific dates or exact wager amounts. Perez handled the technical delivery of remarks at numerous events over nearly a decade, giving him routine access to timing, revisions, and last-minute changes that outside observers would not possess. Kalshi operates as a regulated event contract marketplace, and the CFTC oversees such platforms to enforce rules against insider trading and market manipulation.

Timeline of the Investigation

Agency staff began examining trading