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This week the White House quietly put a teleprompter operator on unpaid administrative leave after a report that he allegedly used inside access to place big bets on a prediction market. The trades were flagged by the exchange and referred to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The short version: someone who sees the script before the president speaks may have treated national security briefings like a side hustle.
What happened: teleprompter operator Gabriel Perez placed on leave
Reporting identifies the staffer as Gabriel Perez, a teleprompter operator who has worked with President Donald Trump. Kalshi, the prediction-market platform where the trades were made, told regulators its surveillance team flagged unusual activity on its “Mentions” contracts — bets on whether the president would say certain words or phrases. Kalshi froze most of the money and referred the case to the CFTC. Media reports say the alleged gains were roughly $90,000 to $100,000.
What Kalshi and the White House are saying
Kalshi says it cooperated and turned the evidence over to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The White House, through Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, called the reports “deeply unfortunate and, frankly, a disgrace” and confirmed the staffer was placed on unpaid leave and is cooperating with regulators. Officials are reportedly discussing returning profits and other remedies, and the CFTC has been briefed.
Why this matters: insider access, prediction markets, and plain common sense
This is not cute or clever. If someone inside the West Wing can profit from knowing what a president will say, you have a corruption risk, plain and simple. Prediction markets that let people trade on the words the president will use invite exactly this kind of temptation. We should not be surprised that lawmakers who already smelled trouble are pushing bills to bar government personnel from these markets. If these platforms are going to exist, watchdogs and the White House must do better at policing access and training staff on ethics.
Accountability and next steps
The right move is simple: full cooperation with the CFTC, return of any ill-gotten gains, and real consequences if wrongdoing is proven. Administrative leave is a start, but it can’t be the end. Tighten rules, fire anyone who abused their position, and close the loopholes that let inside knowledge be monetized. If Congress wants to ban or limit these betting markets for government staff, lawmakers should act fast. This is one of those small scandals that tells you whether Washington has any appetite for real accountability — or whether it will be treated as yet another shrug-and-move-on moment.
