Lead

The White House has suspended one of the operators of President Donald Trump's teleprompters over allegations that he used his access to the president's speech scripts to place bets on a prediction market, earning nearly $100,000 before the platform froze his profits and alerted regulators.

Gabriel Perez, who has operated Trump's teleprompter since 2016, was placed on unpaid administrative leave, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. She added that the president had been informed and believed the situation was "deeply unfortunate and frankly a disgrace."

"There are very strict ethical guidelines here at the White House that explicitly state not to do this," Leavitt said, according to multiple reports.

Coverage comparison

Reports of the incident, first broken by ABC News and confirmed by the BBC and other outlets, broadly agree on the core facts: Perez allegedly placed bets on Kalshi, a prediction market where users bet on real-world events, on whether certain words or phrases would appear in Trump's public addresses. The platform's "mentions" market allowed users to bet on whether specific terms—such as names of countries, economic words, or campaign slogans—would be spoken during a speech.

According to ABC Australia, Perez allegedly made more than $100,000 (about $142,000 Australian) through these bets. The Guardian reported that the profits exceeded $100,000, while the Jerusalem Post said he earned nearly $100,000. The BBC reported that the frozen amount was more than $90,000, citing reports.

Kalshi detected unusual betting patterns and alerted the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the federal agency that regulates prediction markets. The platform froze Perez's account before any profits could be withdrawn, according to the BBC. The BBC also reported that Kalshi's analysis identified the user as a federal employee operating White House teleprompters.

Robert DeNault, Kalshi's head of enforcement, said in a statement reported by ABC Australia: "Our surveillance team promptly flagged and referred these trades to the CFTC, and we are cooperating and assisting regulators."

Key claims

  • Gabriel Perez is under investigation for allegedly using inside information to place bets on Trump's speeches. This claim appears in reports from all four outlets.
  • Perez had worked at the White House since 2016, according to multiple sources.
  • The trades were made on Kalshi, a prediction markets platform, as reported by all four outlets.
  • Kalshi froze Perez's account before profits could be withdrawn, as reported by the BBC and Jerusalem Post.
  • White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Trump was aware of the situation and that Perez had been placed on unpaid administrative leave, as reported by multiple outlets.
  • Perez earned nearly $100,000, according to several reports, with the BBC citing a figure of more than $90,000.
  • The White House has strict ethical guidelines regarding such conduct, as stated by Leavitt and reported by ABC Australia and Jerusalem Post.
  • Perez was placed on administrative leave and will no longer work at the White House, as reported by multiple outlets.
  • The Department of Justice has begun pursuing its first insider trading prosecutions tied to prediction markets, a detail reported by The Guardian.
  • Kalshi previously issued fines to three US political candidates who bet on their own elections, a claim also from The Guardian.
  • Perez is reportedly in settlement talks with the CFTC, as reported by ABC Australia and The Guardian.

Context

Perez has worked with Trump since his first presidential campaign in 2016, serving as a technical assistant to the president. According to the Jerusalem Post, he was often the last person to see Trump's speeches before delivery, giving him advance knowledge of last-minute edits. However, Trump is known to deviate from the script, and the same report noted that investigators found Perez would sometimes back out of bets when Trump went off-script, knowing the scripted words would not be said.

Government records cited by the BBC show Perez earned an annual salary of $175,000 as a deputy assistant to the president and technical adviser.

Leavitt's announcement came ahead of Trump's address to the nation on election integrity, scheduled for Thursday evening US time. She encouraged Americans to tune in, according to ABC Australia.

The CFTC declined to confirm or deny any investigation when contacted by the BBC. ABC News reported that federal prosecutors in Manhattan declined to open a criminal case, according to the BBC, though that detail has not been independently confirmed by other outlets in this report.