Trump teleprompter operator made $100K betting on Kalshi markets tied to speeches: ABC According to ABC News, federal regulators are investigating whether the longtime White House staffer used nonpublic information to profit from event contracts tied to President Donald Trump’s…
eeches. US President Donald Trump’s longtime teleprompter operator is in talks with federal regulators to settle allegations that he used nonpublic information to profit from bets on Kalshi markets tied to the president’s speeches, ABC News reported Thursday, citing sources familiar with the matter
According to the report, Gabriel Perez, a technical assistant who has operated Trump’s teleprompter since 2016, allegedly placed bets on more than a dozen markets tied to Trump’s speeches, generating more than $100,000 in profits. Kalshi detected the activity through its surveillance systems and referred the trades to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the outlet said. The contracts were part of the platform’s “Mentions” markets, which allow users to bet on whether particular words, phrases or topics will appear in public speeches.
According to ABC’s sources, Perez sometimes exited positions mid-speech when Trump skipped prepared passages containing words he had wagered would be mentioned. Regulators reportedly uncovered bets tied to more than a dozen speeches over roughly three months, including the State of the Union and remarks at the World Economic Forum. The White House placed Perez on unpaid administrative leave after the report, according to press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who said Trump called the alleged conduct a “disgrace.” Related: Prediction markets defy crypto downturn with record Q2 volume: CoinGecko Prediction markets confront insider trading scrutiny Prediction markets have faced increasing scrutiny over potential insider trading as trading volumes have surged in recent months.