
Donald Trump’s teleprompter operator is on unpaid leave following allegations he used his inside knowledge to bet on what the president would say in major speeches.
Gabriel Perez, who has been operating Mr Trump’s teleprompter since 2016, is said to have made the bets using the online prediction market Kalshi, ABC News reported on Thursday.
The US outlet said he placed wagers on what the president would say in major speeches, including the State of the Union address earlier this year, winning more than $100,000 (£74,000).
But Kalshi flagged the bets to the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission, according to the company’s lawyer and head of enforcement, Robert Denault, who did not name Perez.
“We have been assisting regulators on this matter and provided all evidence that we collected, as we do with any referral,” he wrote on X.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed Mr Trump is aware of the allegations, saying Perez was on unpaid leave, and calling the situation “unfortunate” and “a disgrace”.
“The White House has extremely strict ethical guidelines with respect to issues like this,” she told reporters.
In its report, ABC described suspicious activity on Kalshi’s “Mentions” market, in which users can place bets on what phrases and words might feature in public speeches.
Kalshi prohibits users from placing bets based on information gained from their job, and the platform recently began asking users to provide details on their place of employment.
It comes after a US special forces soldier involved in the military operation that captured Nicolas Maduro was accused of betting on the raid.
Gannon Ken Van Dyke – who denies the charges – allegedly accessed classified information to make money on prediction platform Polymarket, according to the federal prosecutor’s office in New York.
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