CFTC fines former White House aide $172,000 for trading on Trump speech information
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CFTC fines former White House aide $172,000 for trading on Trump speech information

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Friday ordered former White ⁠House teleprompter operator Gabriel Perez to pay $172,539 for using ​advance access to ​President Donald ​Trump’s speeches to make illegal trades on a prediction-market platform.

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Perez must repay $107,539.02 in profits and ⁠pay ‌a $65,000 civil penalty under a settlement ⁠with the CFTC. He also agreed to a three-year trading ban and to cease and desist from ‌further violations of the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC regulations.

The CFTC said ​Perez traded presidential “mention market” contracts on Kalshi between December 2025 and February 2026 while working at the White House. ⁠The contracts are event contracts that pay out based ‌on whether a president ‌uses specific words or phrases in speeches.

Perez could not immediately be reached for comment. He ⁠was put on unpaid leave and is no longer ⁠working for the federal government.

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Perez ⁠had access to Trump’s speeches before they were delivered and used that material, ​nonpublic information to ‌trade the contracts for his personal benefit, the CFTC said.

The agency said Perez’s $65,000 penalty represented a substantial discount because of his “exemplary cooperation” with the ​investigation.

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The CFTC also credited KalshiEX ‌with assisting in the matter.

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