White House teleprompter operator accused of paying $100,000 in bets on Trump speech

A White House teleprompter operator is under investigation for allegedly making insider bets and nearly $100,000 on US President Donald Trump’s speech.

Gabriel Perez, who has worked in the White House since 2016, has been accused of betting on the words the president uses in major public addresses, including the State of the Union address.

The transactions are done on Kalshi where users can bet on real world events. The firm confirmed that it reported the activity to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which regulates the platform.

Before any profits were withdrawn, Kalshi blocked Mr Perez’s account, according to reports.

The forum told the BBC that analysts had noticed unusual bets on “quoting markets” – contracts where users predict whether a speaker will use common words in March, such as certain countries, economic terms or campaign slogans.

“Words from political leaders like presidents and federal chairs cause billions of dollars to move in the FX markets, oil futures (and) the stock market,” Kalshi said.

Using account information, the company discovered that the user was a federal employee operating White House teleprompters.

More than $90,000 was delayed before the exchange was released.

Robert Denault, Kalshi’s chief enforcement officer, said the firm flagged the transactions and provided evidence to regulators.

White House press secretary Carolyn Levitt said President Trump knew the operator of the teleprompter and that his staff was now on unpaid leave, while Mr. Perez no longer worked at the White House.

The story, first reported by ABC News, has been confirmed by CBS News, the BBC’s US affiliate.

The sources said Mr. Perez was “fully cooperating” with the CFTC.

ABC said federal prosecutors in Manhattan declined to file criminal charges.

When contacted by the BBC to confirm it was investigating, the CFTC said it “can neither confirm nor deny” any investigation.