White House Teleprompter Operator Placed on Leave; Kalshi Freezes Over $90,000 in Speech-Content Bets

The White House placed its teleprompter operator on paid administrative leave July 16 pending a federal investigation into allegations the staffer made tens of thousands of dollars betting on the contents of President Donald Trump's speeches. A different teleprompter operator handled the president's speech that evening.

The staffer has been identified by sources as Gabriel Perez, who has operated the teleprompter for Trump since 2016.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Trump had been briefed on the matter. "He believes it's deeply unfortunate and, frankly, a disgrace," Leavitt said during the July 16 briefing. White House spokesman Davis Ingle said the staffer is fully cooperating with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Ingle added that the White House maintains strict ethics guidelines that all staffers and officials are expected to follow. Kalshi's surveillance systems flagged unusual trades in March on markets tied to common words and topics expected in presidential speeches, including country names, economic terms, campaign language and social issues.

The trades did not involve classified or otherwise sensitive information.

The company identified the trader as a federal employee working as a White House teleprompter operator after reviewing account information. The trades drew complaints from market makers through Kalshi's whistleblower channels. Kalshi froze the account before most alleged profits could be withdrawn, leaving more than $90,000 on the platform, and referred the matter to the CFTC.

Robert DeNault, Kalshi's head of enforcement, said the surveillance team flagged and referred the trades and has been assisting regulators. A CFTC spokesperson said the agency cannot confirm or deny an investigation.