Trump's Teleprompter Operator Faces Scandal Over Insider Speech Betting

Gabriel Perez, the longtime teleprompter operator for former U.S. President Donald Trump since 2016, is under federal investigation for allegedly exploiting confidential information from Trump's speeches to place bets on a prediction market platform. According to an extensive report by ABC News, Perez used his exclusive access to the final versions of Trump's speeches, including last-minute handwritten edits, to wager over $100,000 on Kalshi, a legal financial prediction market that allows betting on political speech content before public delivery.

Perez, who began working with Trump during the 2016 campaign, reportedly placed bets on more than a dozen speeches over approximately three months. These included high-profile events such as the State of the Union address in February, a prime-time December speech, Trump's January World Economic Forum remarks in Davos, and a March Medal of Honor ceremony. Investigators found that when Trump deviated from the script or omitted predicted words, Perez quickly withdrew or adjusted his bets to avoid losses.

Kalshi's monitoring systems detected unusual betting patterns, prompting the company to alert the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Kalshi prohibits users from betting on information obtained through their employment. Following the discovery, the White House issued an internal memo warning staff against using nonpublic information for betting and updated its ethical guidelines.

Despite the serious allegations, Perez remains employed as Trump's teleprompter operator. The CFTC referred the case to federal prosecutors in Manhattan, who declined to pursue criminal charges. Instead, regulators are negotiating a civil settlement with Perez, who has admitted to most of the bets, agreed to return all illicit gains, and committed to refraining from similar conduct in the future. White House spokesperson Davis Ingle stated that Perez is cooperating fully with the CFTC investigation and emphasized the administration's strict ethical standards.