White House employee fined $65,000 for betting on Trump's speeches

A former White House employee has been ordered to pay a substantial sum for illegally profiting from insider knowledge of President Donald Trump's speeches. Gabriel Perez must return $107,539 in illegal gains and pay a $65,000 fine, according to a ruling by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

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exemplary cooperation

Perez engaged in a series of betting transactions between December 2025 and February 2026 on the Kalshi platform. His bets were based on predicting specific words and phrases that President Trump would utter during his public appearances. The CFTC noted that the fine was reduced due to Perez's "exemplary cooperation" during the investigation.

In addition to the financial penalties, Perez faces a three-year ban from all trading activities on such prediction markets. The CFTC emphasized that Perez "unlawfully misappropriated" advance knowledge of presidential speeches, violating the "duty of confidentiality and integrity" associated with his position.

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unlawfully misappropriated

The case came to light when Kalshi's surveillance systems detected unusual activity in "mention markets" in March. These markets allow users to bet on whether a speaker will use specific words or phrases. Cross-referencing the account details revealed the user was a federal employee with access to the White House teleprompter, prompting the referral to the regulatory authority.

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duty of confidentiality and integrity

Following the revelation, the White House issued a strict directive to staff, explicitly prohibiting participation in prediction markets using non-public information. Bobby Na, Kalshi's chief legal counsel, praised the CFTC's decision, stating, "It doesn't matter who you are: if you break our rules or federal law, you will face the consequences."

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It doesn't matter who you are: if you break our rules or federal law, you will face the consequences.