CFTC Investigates Adam Kinzinger Over Kalshi Pardon Bets

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is investigating former Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger over prediction market trades tied to the presidential pardon he received from Joe Biden, Politico reported, citing three people familiar with the matter. The trades were placed via a Kalshi account linked to Kinzinger in December 2024 and January 2025. He told Politico he bet on whether he would personally receive a pardon and on whether Biden would issue preemptive pardons before leaving office. Biden pardoned Kinzinger and other Jan. 6 committee members in his final hours in January 2025. Kinzinger said the sums were small, providing screenshots showing $823 in gains across roughly 25 trades, mostly losses. He denies wrongdoing, saying he had been out of office for two years, held no inside information and never discussed the pardons. Kalshi bans betting by direct participants; the CFTC prohibits using material nonpublic information. Neither agency nor Kalshi commented, and Kinzinger said neither has contacted him.