A White House teleprompter operator has been accused of using non-public information to place bets on words US President Donald Trump would use in public speeches, according to reports cited by MyJoyOnline.
The operator, identified in the report as Gabriel Perez, is alleged to have placed trades on Kalshi, a prediction-markets platform that offers contracts linked to real-world events. The bets reportedly concerned whether particular words or phrases would be used during major presidential addresses, including a State of the Union speech.
Kalshi said it detected unusual activity in what it described as “mention markets” in March. Such markets allow users to predict whether a speaker will use specified terms, including references to countries, economic issues or campaign slogans.
According to the report, the company used account information to identify the trader as a federal employee who operated White House teleprompters. Kalshi said it froze the account before profits could be withdrawn and reported the matter to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the US regulator overseeing the platform.
The amount frozen was reported as more than US$90,000, while the alleged gains were described as close to US$100,000.
Robert DeNault, Kalshi’s head of enforcement, said the company had flagged the trades and passed evidence to regulators. Kalshi also said that comments by political leaders can move financial markets, underlining its concern over the possible use of information unavailable to other traders.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was reported to have said that President Trump had been informed of the matter. She said the staff member had been placed on unpaid leave and would no longer work at the White House.
The report said Perez had been cooperative with the CFTC. However, the agency did not confirm whether it had opened an investigation, saying it could neither confirm nor deny a probe. It was also reported that federal prosecutors in Manhattan declined to pursue a criminal case.
The allegations were first reported by ABC News and were said to have been corroborated by CBS News, according to the source material. The claims remain allegations, and the available information does not state that Perez has been charged with any offence.
