Key Points
- Gabriel Perez, who has managed Donald Trump’s teleprompter operations since 2016, is accused of leveraging privileged information about presidential speeches to generate more than $100,000 through Kalshi prediction markets.
- His trading focused on “Mentions” contracts — wagers on whether particular words or topics would surface during Trump’s public addresses.
- Reports indicate Perez withdrew from positions during speeches when Trump departed from prepared text, as reported by ABC News.
- Kalshi’s internal monitoring systems identified suspicious trading patterns and escalated the issue to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
- Following the revelations, the White House suspended Perez; President Trump condemned the alleged actions as dishonorable.
For nearly a decade, Gabriel Perez has been the person controlling what appears on President Donald Trump’s teleprompter. This role gave him advance access to speech content before it reached public audiences. New reporting from ABC News suggests he exploited that privileged position for financial gain.
According to ABC News reporting released Thursday, Perez is currently engaged in discussions with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission regarding accusations that he utilized confidential information about presidential speeches to place lucrative bets on Kalshi, a federally regulated prediction market.
Kalshi offers “Mentions” markets that allow participants to wager on whether certain phrases or subjects will appear in public speeches. Over approximately three months, Perez allegedly placed bets connected to more than a dozen Trump speeches, including high-profile addresses like the State of the Union and remarks at January’s World Economic Forum in Davos.
His total profits from these transactions reportedly exceeded $100,000.
The Mechanics Behind the Alleged Scheme
Perez’s position gave him unique foresight into Trump’s intended remarks. When the president strayed from scripted material — a frequent occurrence — Perez allegedly capitalized on this knowledge by modifying his market positions during live speeches, exiting trades when prepared sections were omitted.
Kalshi detected the unusual trading behavior through its surveillance infrastructure. The platform promptly identified the suspicious activity and forwarded the matter to federal regulators. When contacted, a CFTC representative declined to “confirm or deny an investigation.”
The White House responded by placing Perez on administrative leave after the story broke. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that Trump characterized the alleged conduct as “deeply unfortunate and frankly a disgrace.”
Prediction Markets Face Mounting Scrutiny
This incident emerges amid increasing concerns about insider trading across prediction market platforms.
Earlier this year, federal prosecutors charged a U.S. Army servicemember with exploiting classified intelligence to place a $400,000 wager on Polymarket concerning Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Similarly, in May, authorities charged a Google engineer with using proprietary company search analytics to generate $1.2 million in profits on Polymarket.
Another controversial case involved six Polymarket users who collectively earned approximately $1 million by betting on imminent U.S. military action against Iran in February — placing their wagers just hours before explosions were reported in Tehran.
Legislators have begun responding to these concerns. Last June, Republican Representative Bryan Steil proposed legislation that would prohibit members of Congress and their immediate family members from participating in prediction markets tied to political events. The Senate has implemented its own prohibition on such trading.
Both Kalshi and Polymarket have publicly stated they’ve implemented safeguards against insider trading. The Perez investigation now represents a critical evaluation of whether these protective measures function effectively in practice.
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