Trump Teleprompter Operator Suspended Over Insider Trading Probe

Gabriel Perez, a veteran teleprompter operator for President Donald Trump, has been placed on unpaid administrative leave pending a federal investigation. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is probing claims that Perez leveraged advance knowledge of the President’s public speeches to profit on the prediction market platform Kalshi. Investigators suggest Perez earned over $100,000 by wagering on specific rhetorical flourishes and vocabulary used during high-profile addresses, such as the 2026 State of the Union.

Suspicious trading patterns, including the cancellation of bets mid-speech when the President deviated from prepared remarks, were flagged by Kalshi’s internal surveillance team. The referral to the CFTC triggered immediate action, leading to the freezing of his assets. The White House had previously issued an internal memo in March 2026 explicitly warning staff against utilizing nonpublic information to influence prediction market outcomes, categorizing such behavior as a direct violation of ethical guidelines.

President Trump was briefed on the matter and condemned the actions as a disgrace. While Perez is cooperating with federal regulators in ongoing settlement talks, Manhattan-based prosecutors have reportedly declined to pursue criminal charges at this stage. This case serves as a high-profile example of the growing regulatory focus on the intersection of political information and emerging prediction market platforms. The administration remains under pressure to maintain ethical standards as it continues to cooperate with the federal oversight commission.