A White House staffer at the center of President Donald Trump’s inner circle is under federal scrutiny after allegedly turning privileged access into a personal opportunity, reigniting criticism over the culture inside Trump’s administration.
Investigators say Gabriel Perez, Trump’s longtime teleprompter operator, used his access to the president’s unreleased speeches to place more than $100,000 in bets on the prediction market Kalshi.
The strangest part wasn’t the allegation itself but how ordinary the setup looked — a White House staffer tucked beside the stage, scrolling through lines meant only for the president, while the real drama was unfolding somewhere far from the podium.
Federal regulators are now digging into how his proximity to prepared remarks may have become a personal payday, determined by whether Trump would say certain words as he addressed the nation.
Questions continue to mount about who knew what, and how far the practice might reach.
News of the alleged scheme sparked immediate online backlash, prompting reactions like “Everybody crooks,” and “Corruption runs downhill like piss from Trump” as the story gained traction.
Perez, who has operated Trump’s teleprompter since 2016, is believed to have bet on more than a dozen speeches, enriching himself through insider information, according to investigators with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Kalshi flagged the suspicious activity on its “Mentions” market, where users wager on whether specific words or topics will appear in public remarks.
“Our surveillance team promptly flagged and referred these trades to the CFTC, and we are cooperating and assisting regulators,” Kalshi’s head of enforcement Bobby DeNault said, according to ABC News.
The White House responded quickly once the findings became public.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Perez had been placed on unpaid administrative leave, adding that Trump thought the situation was a “disgrace.” She also said she was unaware of any other staffers making similar trades.
White House spokesperson Davis Ingle later echoed that point, saying, “The White House has strict ethics guidelines that we expect all staffers and officials to follow,” according to the Daily Beast.
Investigators found that Perez’s bets spanned at least a three‑month period and included wagers on the State of the Union, a December primetime address, Trump’s January speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, and remarks delivered during a March Medal of Honor ceremony.
In some cases, sources said Perez backed out of bets mid‑speech when Trump went off script and skipped a part containing a word Perez had wagered on.
Trump himself has acknowledged how unpredictable his speeches can be.
“You know, when you go up here, you take a big chance, especially me because I go off teleprompter about 80% of the time,” he said in January to the Detroit Economic Club — another speech investigators believe Perez had bet on.
Perez has reportedly sat for interviews with regulators and acknowledged some of the trades. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan declined to open a criminal case, but CFTC regulators have discussed a settlement requiring Perez to return his profits and refrain from similar activity.
One source said more than $90,000 in profits have since been frozen.
The controversy comes amid broader concerns about insider trading on prediction markets.
The White House issued an internal memo back in March, reminding staff that using nonpublic information for wagers is a criminal offense, but by then Perez was already on the make, according to officials.
“Corruption all around,” another online commenter said as more examples surfaced.
Another added, “You can’t make this shit up #insiderinfo”
A recent analysis from Bubblemaps found nine anonymous accounts with a 98 percent win rate on Polymarket, betting on military actions including the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the timing of ceasefires, the Beast reported. “This might be the most insane pattern we have found on Polymarket so far,” Bubblemaps CEO Nicolas Vaiman said. “Luck alone cannot explain those numbers.”
Polymarket said in a statement that it refers suspicious activity to law enforcement and that “insider trading is not welcome on Polymarket, and those who attempt it will be identified.”
The White House memo warned staff that “government ethics regulations prohibit the use of nonpublic information for the private benefit of an employee or any other third party,” adding that misuse “will not be tolerated.”
The Justice Department has already brought two insider‑trading cases involving prediction markets: one against a special forces soldier accused of betting on the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, and another against a Google employee accused of wagering based on internal search data.
Both pleaded not guilty.
One anonymous Polymarket user, “Magamyman,” reportedly earned more than $553,000 after Khamenei’s death.
Perez’s role inside the White House had long placed him close to Trump’s prepared remarks, often giving him the final look before delivery. He previously drew scrutiny over edits made to Trump’s Jan. 6 speech.
Kalshi recently updated its policies to require users to disclose their place of employment, with DeNault saying, “If you have information by virtue of your job or your employment … you have an obligation not to take that, misappropriate it for yourself.”
Trump has criticized prediction markets at times but said in April he supports them because the U.S. could be “left out in the cold” if it doesn’t allow companies like Kalshi and Polymarket to operate.
“Well the whole world, unfortunately, has become somewhat of a casino,” he said. “I was never much in favor of it. I don’t like it conceptually, but it is what it is.”
Meanwhile, the reactions largely reflected a public already skeptical of the Trump White House, a mood sharpened by recent financial disclosure forms showing the president’s personal wealth rose by roughly $2.2 billion during his first year back in office.
“Surrounded by criminals!” one wrote on X.
Another voice on Threads added: “There isn’t one soul associated with this sociopath that isn’t a sociopath and/or crook too.”
