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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the teleprompter operator accused of placing bets on President Trump’s speeches has been put on administrative leave.
“The individual that was cited in that report is complying with the CFTC [Commodity Futures Trading Commission] and has been placed on administrative leave,” Leavitt told reporters at the White House press briefing Thursday.
Leavitt said Trump had been made aware of the situation, adding that another teleprompter operator will handle Trump’s primetime address to the nation later Thursday.
“He believes it is deeply unfortunate and, frankly, a disgrace,” she said.
Shortly before the briefing, prediction market platform Kalshi announced it flagged suspicious trades on Trump’s speeches to federal regulators, reportedly connected to the teleprompter operator.
ABC News first reported that Gabriel Perez, who was hired by Trump in 2016, is in settlement talks with the CFTC over claims that he used inside knowledge about the president’s remarks to place wagers on Kalshi.
“The Kalshi surveillance team promptly flagged, investigated and referred these trades to the CFTC,” Robert DeNault, head of enforcement and legal counsel at Kalshi, wrote in a post on social media.
“We have been assisting regulators on this matter and provided all evidence that we collected, as we do with any referral,” he continued.
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