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Matthias Knab, Opalesque:

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has settled charges against former U.S. Congressman George Santos for manipulative trading in an event contract tied to an outcome he himself controlled: whether he would show up at the 2026 State of the Union address.

Under the order, Santos must disgorge $17,569.98 in trading profits and pay a civil monetary penalty of $17,500, bringing his total financial sanction to roughly $35,000. He also agreed to a cease-and-desist from further violations of the Commodity Exchange Act and accepted a three-year ban from trading in CFTC-regulated markets. Santos settled without admitting or denying the CFTC's findings.

According to the CFTC order, between February 12 and February 25, 2026, Santos traded a Kalshi-listed contract titled "Who will attend the State of the Union?" - specifically the sub-market on whether he personally would be present at the 2026 address. Because Santos alone controlled the underlying outcome, the Commission found that his public statements about his own travel plans functioned as a lever on the contract's price, one he pulled repeatedly while holding a position on the other side of the trade.

The order lays out a pattern: Santos would take a position, then post on social media in ways that moved the market, then exit at a profit once the price reacted. In one instance cited by the Commission, S......................

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