New Delhi, July 17 -- trades that moved too precisely, too consistently, in step with what only a handful of people inside the White House could have known in advance.

The trader, it turned out, was Gabriel Perez, a veteran teleprompter operator who had spent years positioning words in front of the president's eyes before they left his mouth. On Wednesday, the White House confirmed Perez had been placed on unpaid administrative leave and suspended from his duties, following federal referral of the case to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the action without elaborating on its scope. Leavitt said Perez was placed on unpaid administrative leave on presidential orders. The amou...