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The White House on Thursday (local time) confirmed that US President Donald Trump's long-time teleprompter operator is under a federal investigation over alleged insider trading on a prediction market platform, noting that the individual has been placed on unpaid administrative leave.
Responding to a question during a press briefing, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Trump was aware of the matter and described the allegations as "deeply unfortunate". "Obviously, I'm aware of the report. The President is too. I spoke with him about it. He believes it's deeply unfortunate and frankly a disgrace, and the individual that was cited in that report is complying with the CFTC but has been put on unpaid administrative leave. So there will be a teleprompter operator tonight, of course, but it will not be the one, unfortunately in that story," Leavitt said. She added that the White House maintains strict ethical standards and said the decision to place the employee on leave was made by the President. "Well, the White House has extremely strict ethical guidelines with respect to issues like this, and as I just told you, this individual will no longer be here. He'll be on administrative leave without pay. The administrative leave is unpaid, to be very clear. That was a decision by the President, so I think that speaks for itself," Leavitt added. According to CNN, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is investigating White House employee Gabriel Perez, Trump's long-time teleprompter operator, over potential insider trading on prediction market platform Kalshi. CNN reported, citing sources familiar with the matter, that Perez allegedly placed trades on Kalshi's "mention markets", where users wager on which words or phrases public figures, including the President, will use in speeches and public appearances. The trades were reportedly flagged by Kalshi's internal surveillance team and referred to the CFTC for investigation. According to CNN, Perez allegedly made more than USD 90,000 in profits from the trades, though those profits have since been frozen. CNN reported that Perez has cooperated with the CFTC probe. A CFTC spokesperson told the network the agency could "neither confirm nor deny" an investigation. Perez has worked closely with Trump for nearly a decade and is regarded as one of the President's most trusted aides. According to CNN, his official title is Deputy Assistant to the President and Technical Advisor, with an annual salary of USD 175,000. He is often among the last people to review Trump's prepared remarks before they are delivered publicly. The report also noted that earlier this year, the White House circulated guidance warning staff that the misuse of non-public information for financial gain through prediction markets would not be tolerated. (ANI)
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