White House teleprompter operator Gabriel Perez leaves

A White House teleprompter operator accused of using advance knowledge of President Donald Trump's speeches to profit from online prediction market bets is no longer employed by the federal government, officials confirmed on July 29. Gabriel Perez, who had been placed on unpaid leave earlier in July, is the first confirmed employment casualty from the reported betting activity.

A White House official said Perez no longer works in the federal government but declined to specify whether he resigned or was fired. The official was not authorized to discuss the personnel matter publicly. Perez's departure follows an ABC News report earlier this month alleging he earned more than $100,000 by trading contracts on the Kalshi platform tied to specific words or phrases Trump would use in major addresses, including the State of the Union.

The trading activity came to light after Kalshi's internal surveillance systems identified unusual transactions. Robert DeNault, Kalshi's head of enforcement, stated that the company's surveillance team flagged, investigated, and referred the trades to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which oversees federally regulated prediction markets....