State Department watchdog probes whether ambassador received gifts from businessmen
President Donald Trump said Monday he is “looking at” firing U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle and told reporters he is “not happy” with her, escalating a personnel question that has already drawn a State Department inspector general investigation and a records demand from congressional Democrats.
“Well, we’re looking at it. Yeah, we’re not happy,” Trump said in brief remarks reported by The Wall Street Journal.
The statement followed the Journal’s report of text messages in which Guilfoyle asked Eric Deters, a former Kentucky congressional candidate and Trump donor who had previously paid her speaking fees, to wire $100,000 to her American Express account ahead of her confirmation hearing. The exchange, sent over the encrypted messaging app Signal, read: “It won’t show up anywhere if you wire money to American Express. Please.” Deters refused. According to the Journal, Deters had separately made a $200,000 payment to Donald Trump Jr. and a $100,000 payment to Eric Trump.
The State Department Office of Inspector General is now investigating whether Guilfoyle received gifts or favors from private businessmen. The Wall Street Journal subsequently reported audio of Guilfoyle boasting that Greek business magnates had paid for her flight to Paris along with luxurious hotel accommodations.
Trump administration officials spent the weekend discussing whether Guilfoyle should continue in the post, according to a senior administration official familiar with the deliberations. Some floated asking the envoy to voluntarily relinquish her post to spare the president the embarrassment of a firing, the official said. A spokesman for Guilfoyle did not immediately return requests for comment.
Guilfoyle’s lawyer, Jesse Binnall, previously told the Journal that the ambassador disputed the authenticity of the messages. He said she had been paid to speak at events before her nomination and “was owed a balance for traveling to and supporting these patriotic events.” Deters said he did not owe Guilfoyle any balance.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in Athens last week, told reporters: “I don’t know if it’s true or not true. You guys somehow walk around thinking that because some source told you something and you reported it, it’s the gospel. It’s not the gospel. It’s not the gospel for me.” Vice President JD Vance, asked about the allegations, said: “I don’t love that,” adding that he was unfamiliar with the story.
Guilfoyle was previously engaged to Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son. Rubio and Vance are widely considered future potential presidential candidates. The Journal reported the controversy has distracted from Republican efforts to defend their majorities in the coming midterm elections, and members of Congress have promised to investigate the matter.
Democrats moved quickly to formalize the scrutiny. Rep. Don Beyer (D., Va.) called for Guilfoyle to be fired and “if she broke the law, which seems highly likely, prosecuted.” Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the top Democrat on the House oversight committee, sent a letter to Guilfoyle saying the reported conduct “raises serious public corruption and national security concerns” and requesting she provide financial records and copies of her communications with certain government officials.