The teleprompter operator for President Donald Trump is on unpaid leave following reports of using insider knowledge about the president’s speeches to place bets on the Kalshi prediction market, the White House announced Thursday.
The company’s chief compliance officer revealed that Kalshi has been in contact with federal regulators regarding bets allegedly placed on the president’s public speeches.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that the president is aware of the situation, describing it as “unfortunate” and “embarrassing.” Leavitt told reporters, “The White House maintains extremely strict ethical guidelines on matters like this,” and confirmed that the assistant is on unpaid leave.
On Thursday, ABC News reported that Gabriel Perez, who has operated Trump’s teleprompter since 2016, used insider knowledge to earn over $100,000 by betting on the president’s significant speeches, including the State of the Union address earlier this year.
According to Robert Denault, lawyer and compliance head at Kalshi, the “Kalshi surveillance team detected, investigated, and promptly referred these operations” to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which regulates such matters. His statement did not mention Perez. Denault added, “We have been assisting regulators in this matter and provided all the evidence we gathered, as we do with any referral.”
ABC based its report on multiple sources knowledgeable about the matter, who spoke anonymously to discuss the details. The ABC report highlighted suspicious activity in Kalshi’s “Mentions” market, where users bet on specific phrases and words that might be used in public speeches. Kalshi recently began requiring users to disclose their place of employment, with platform policies prohibiting betting based on information obtained through employment.
Recently, reports have emerged suggesting members of the administration, including Trump, are financially benefiting from the presidency. In his latest financial disclosures, Trump reported earning $1.2 billion from cryptocurrency ventures in 2025, accumulating profits while investors faced losses in markets he aims to protect from federal regulations.
Trump gained over $500 million from World Liberty Financial by selling new cryptocurrency products, including “governance tokens,” according to the mandatory annual disclosure to the Office of Government Ethics. It also showed another cryptocurrency venture, CIC Digital LLC, received over $600 million from selling souvenir “meme” coins minted with Trump’s image. Both the tokens and coins have plummeted in value since the sales.
The president has also profited from merchandise contracts and political events at his properties, substantially increasing his net worth since returning to power. Trump’s advisors have defended his personal and family business practices. Leavitt stated earlier this year, “The president complies with all conflict-of-interest laws applicable to the president.” She added, “It is absurd to suggest this president is profiting from the presidency.”
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This story was translated from English by an AP editor with assistance from a generative AI tool.
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