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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Ramon Antonio Vargas

Ex-White House teleprompter operator fined $172,000 for Trump speech bets

Gabriel Perez White House CFTC United States Donald Trump Nicolás Maduro
Donald Trump speaks at a lectern.
Donald Trump delivers his State of the Union address on 24 February 2026, with a teleprompter panel visible to his left. Photograph: Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images

A White House teleprompter operator who left his post amid accusations that he used inside knowledge to make bets on Donald Trump’s speeches on an online prediction market has been fined $172,000, according to federal regulators.

Gabriel Perez illicitly exploited “material, nonpublic information” that he gathered through his work for the president in order to place wagers on the Kalshi platform “for his personal benefit”, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) maintained in a news release on Friday.

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