Kalshi Investigates Suspicious Bets on White House Press Secretary

Prediction market Kalshi is investigating three suspicious bets placed shortly before Donald Trump announced Katie Zacharia as the next White House press secretary on October 10, 2026. Zacharia, a conservative commentator and communications adviser to the president's media company, had only a 1% chance of selection on the platform prior to the announcement.

The trades included a $19 bet placed Thursday evening and two bets of approximately $74 and $80 placed at 1:41 p.m. Friday, less than 20 minutes before the news broke around 2 p.m. These wagers are expected to pay out $1,896, $3,689, and $4,023 respectively. Kalshi is scrutinizing the trades because they occurred in knowable markets, which are considered more susceptible to insider trading since outcomes are determined in advance.

While there is no public evidence that the traders used confidential information, the investigation follows a July incident where former teleprompter operator Gabriel Perez was fined $172,000 by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for betting on presidential speeches using advance access to texts. Kalshi leaders have previously stated they use surveillance tools to monitor market spikes and cooperate with federal regulators to prevent insider trading. This scrutiny coincides with a report by the Anti-Corruption Data Collective noting that similar markets for the 2026 midterm elections have seen over $20 million in trading volume.