Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) asked White House Counsel Will Scharf whether he would recommend that President Donald Trump grant clemency to Gabriel Perez, the former White House teleprompter operator who settled federal charges over Kalshi bets on what Trump would say in his speeches.
The clemency question is the last of seven in a letter dated Nov. 9, which Warren’s office announced a day later. The senators asked for answers by Nov. 23.
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What the Senators Want to Know
Beyond clemency, the letter asks whether the White House knows of other staff who used inside knowledge to place bets or trades, whether employees get training on misusing nonpublic information or trading in financial or prediction markets, and whether White House ethics agreements have changed.
The letter also asks how the internal investigation into Perez ended, whether he was fired, and whether anyone at the White House spoke about him with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) or the Justice Department. They also want the memo itself, which NPR reported warned staff against “using nonpublic government information to place bets on Kalshi and …Polymarket.”
How the Kalshi Case Unfolded
The CFTC said in August that he traded “mention” contracts on Kalshi, according to the letter, which settle on whether a speaker uses particular words, while working at the White House. The trading ran from December 2025 to March 2026, according to the CFTC’s order. According to the letter, Kalshi investigated the trades and referred them to the regulator.
Under the settlement, Perez must give up the $107,539.02 he made and pay a $65,000 civil penalty, which the CFTC cut because he cooperated, and he can’t trade for three years.
Trump Family Ties
The senators also pointed to the Trump family’s stakes in the sector. The letter cited Donald Trump Jr.’s role as advisor at Polymarket and Kalshi and his financial stakes in both companies. It also cites Truth Predict, a prediction market Trump Media announced it was developing with Crypto.com.
Related Listen: Why Kalshi’s Rough Week Could Reach the Supreme Court: DEX in the City
