White House teleprompter operator accused of Kalshi insider trading leaves federal job
Gabriel Perez, a White House teleprompter operator accused of winning over $100,000 on Kalshi by betting on President Trump's speeches, is no longer employed by the federal government. Perez allegedly used advance knowledge of speech content to trade on the platform's 'Mentions' markets. The circumstances of his departure remain unspecified. Robert Denault, Kalshi's lawyer and head of enforcement, previously said the platform's surveillance team responded promptly after an ABC News report surfaced.
Kalshi now faces a direct reputation test over insider trading at the highest political level. The platform's surveillance system flagged Perez's activity in the first place, but the six-figure profit accumulated before action came. That timeline undermines the argument that self-policing catches trouble fast enough. For the CFTC, the case is no longer theoretical: a federal employee with non-public information profited on regulated event contracts, and the regulator must decide whether to file charges or let the employment departure suffice.
Congressional oversight is the likeliest next forum, where lawmakers will press whether other White House staffers with speech access also traded. Kalshi's cooperation enters the record as evidence that self-regulation works, or that it failed completely. The Kalshi surveillance system triggered this case, which is both a vulnerability and a shield.
This is the first test of how prediction-market platforms discipline staff-level political insider trading after Kalshi's own surveillance system flagged the activity that triggered the original CFTC referral.