Former White House Aide Penalized for Kalshi Insider Trading

The supplied content does not include the body of the Associated Press article. Instead, it consists almost entirely of AP News navigation menus, section labels, newsletter promotions, unrelated headlines, and other site elements. The only article-specific information available is the title, “Ex-White House staffer penalized for insider trading,” and a related Politics headline stating that a “Former White House teleprompter operator” was ordered to turn over profits and pay a fine over insider trading. The URL also contains a reference to Kalshi, suggesting that the article may concern trading or prediction-market activity, but the provided text does not explain Kalshi’s role or establish the details of the alleged transactions. Based on the available headline information, the article concerns disciplinary or legal action against a former White House staff member who allegedly engaged in insider trading. The reported consequences include disgorgement or repayment of trading profits and the payment of an additional financial penalty. However, the extract does not identify the staffer, the government agency or court imposing the penalty, the amount of money involved, the information allegedly used, the dates of the trades, or whether the individual admitted wrongdoing or contested the action. Because the substantive article text is missing, no reliable account can be provided of the evidence, investigative process, regulatory findings, responses from the former staffer or their attorneys, or broader implications for government ethics and prediction-market trading. The assessment below is therefore limited to the wording of the headline and the single related headline included in the supplied page text.

Former White House teleprompter operator Gabriel Perez has been ordered by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to pay more than $172,000 after using confidential knowledge of President Donald Trump’s planned speech content to place bets on Kalshi, a prediction-markets platform. The trades occurred between December 2025 and February 2026 and involved contracts predicting whether Trump would mention particular words, countries, slogans, or other terms in his addresses. According to the CFTC, Perez made $107,539.02 in profits and must surrender those gains. He must also pay a $65,000 civil penalty and has been barred from trading for three years. The regulator said Perez had “misappropriated” information obtained through his job and had violated a duty of trust and confidence. His penalty was reduced because of what the CFTC described as his “exemplary co-operation” with the investigation. Perez was reportedly placed on unpaid leave in July and will not return to his White House position. The White House has not commented on the settlement. Kalshi’s lead lawyer, Bobby DeNault, welcomed the CFTC’s decision and said that anyone violating the platform’s rules or federal law would face consequences. Kalshi previously told the BBC that its analysts detected unusual betting activity in March. The company investigated account information, determined that the bettor was a federal employee who operated White House teleprompters, and referred the matter to regulators. Kalshi emphasized that remarks by political leaders can affect foreign-exchange markets, oil futures, and stock prices. The case also prompted the White House Management Office to warn aides not to bet on prediction markets. Overall, the article presents the settlement as an insider-trading and ethics enforcement action involving sensitive presidential speech information and emerging political betting markets.

Former White House teleprompter operator Gabriel Perez has been penalized for using information gained through his government position to bet on President Donald Trump’s future words on the prediction-market platform Kalshi. According to the article, Perez earned US$107,500 from bets on whether Trump would use particular words or phrases in speeches. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced a settlement requiring Perez to surrender more than US$100,000 in profits, pay a US$65,000 civil fine and accept a three-year ban from trading. The CFTC said Perez traded presidential “mention market” contracts between December 2025 and February 2026 while he was working at the White House. These event contracts pay traders based on whether a president says specified words or phrases during public speeches. Authorities accused Perez of exploiting inside knowledge available to him through his role as a teleprompter operator. Perez was placed on unpaid leave after reports about the betting emerged. A White House official later said he was no longer in the position, although it was not disclosed whether he had been fired or had resigned. The White House did not immediately comment on the settlement. The case highlights regulatory concerns surrounding prediction markets, particularly when participants may have privileged access to information that could affect the outcome of event contracts. The settlement resolves the federal authorities’ action against Perez without additional details about the specific bets or the information he used. It also demonstrates that regulators may treat wagers based on politically sensitive speech predictions as a matter of financial-market enforcement when insider knowledge is involved.

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has ordered former White House teleprompter operator Gabriel Perez to pay US$172,539 (S$220,000) over illegal trading linked to advance access to President Donald Trump’s speeches. Under a settlement announced on Aug 28, Perez must repay US$107,539.02 in trading profits and pay a US$65,000 civil penalty. The CFTC said Perez traded presidential “mention market” contracts on the prediction-market platform Kalshi between December 2025 and February 2026, while he was working at the White House. These event contracts pay out according to whether a president uses specified words or phrases in a speech. According to the agency, Perez had access to Trump’s speeches before they were delivered and used the confidential information to trade for personal gain. In addition to the financial penalties, Perez agreed to a three-year trading ban and promised to cease and desist from further violations of the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC regulations. He could not immediately be reached for comment. The article says he was placed on unpaid leave and is no longer employed by the federal government. The CFTC said the civil penalty was substantially reduced because of Perez’s “exemplary cooperation” with its investigation. The agency also credited KalshiEX with assisting in the matter. The case highlights regulatory scrutiny of prediction markets and the risks of using non-public government information to trade contracts tied to political speech. The report was published by Reuters in The Straits Times.