Albania, Ukraine, Romania pull back from American gas deals
President Trump asked Kimberly Guilfoyle to resign as the U.S. ambassador to Greece on Tuesday, according to people familiar with the matter, following weeks of damaging reporting in the Wall Street Journal. New White House press secretary Katie Zacharia announced the decision at her first briefing, telling reporters the administration had asked Guilfoyle to resign and that she had been “a wonderful asset to the team” and the administration wished her well.
The Journal’s reporting unfolded in three waves from late last month through mid-October. Its first investigation, published in late September, revealed that Guilfoyle had been promoting Greek construction firm Aktor while working closely with the company’s top lobbyist. A second story detailed text messages showing she had solicited $100,000 from Eric Deters, a Trump donor and former congressional candidate, to her American Express account in the run-up to her confirmation hearing. After the Journal published a third story on Saturday showing that Guilfoyle had accepted private jet travel and hospitality at some of Europe’s most expensive hotels from the shipping magnate Nikolas Tsakos, the atmosphere at the white marble embassy turned increasingly tense.
When the second story appeared, Guilfoyle reached out to White House officials to claim the text messages were AI-generated, according to people familiar with the matter. The officials did not believe her claims, the people said. Journal reporters verified the authenticity of the donor’s text messages, the paper reported.
Trump instructed Zacharia to announce the resignation during a Tuesday morning prep session ahead of the press secretary’s first briefing, people familiar with the matter said. The president did not speak directly to Guilfoyle before making the decision, one of the people said. The president’s unusual decision to force out a sitting ambassador capped a week when one of America’s most prominent diplomats unexpectedly became an unwelcome distraction. The wave of negative stories interfered with the carefully laid plans of the secretary of state and became a headache for White House officials as they rushed to piece together her activities across a patch of Southeastern Europe thousands of miles from Washington.
“We have asked Ambassador Guilfoyle to resign,” Zacharia told reporters on Tuesday. “She has been a wonderful asset to the team, and we wish her well.”
Trump told reporters later in the day: “No, she wasn’t a member of my family. She, I guess, dated my son a long time ago.” The president was annoyed at how brazen the accusations appeared to be, according to people who spoke with him, and was troubled that Guilfoyle was making money off his presidency. The president’s senior aides were growing increasingly frustrated with the negative headlines, which they worried would feed the perception of self-dealing just weeks ahead of the midterm elections.
Trump appears eager to distance himself from an ambassador who once touted her access to the Oval Office but now faces calls for investigations from congressional Democrats who could take power after the midterm elections. In March, the president feted Guilfoyle at a White House event for Greek Independence Day, calling her “my friend for a long time” and “an inspiration.”
As damaging revelations piled up, Guilfoyle started dialing up administration officials and people close to the president, playing down Wall Street Journal reporting that suggested she was using her position for personal gain. Guilfoyle had been worried about her job since late last month, when the Journal revealed she had been promoting Aktor, and she began calling administration officials and prominent Trump supporters — often in the early hours in Athens — to ask for their backing, according to people familiar with the matter. She was eager to identify those leaking the stories that made her the subject of mockery on late-night talk shows, accusing embassy personnel and her security team, the people said. At one point, she called Matthew Boyle, the Washington bureau chief of conservative media outlet Breitbart News, for help to lobby administration officials on her behalf.
Visitors at Jefferson House, the Athens residence Guilfoyle had decorated with large self-portraits, noticed she was peering over their shoulders to watch the television on mute, showing news coverage of her mounting political problems. She worked to project a sense of normalcy. On Monday, she posted a photo on social media of herself posing with the Spanish ambassador to Greece to celebrate his country’s national day, writing: “Feliz Fiesta Nacional!” On Instagram, she wished Lara Trump, the president’s daughter-in-law, a happy birthday. Early Tuesday, she was still telling associates she would survive the scandal, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The controversy played out against Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s visit to Athens. Rubio and his senior aides were halfway to Athens last week when they learned that the Journal was preparing to publish the $100,000 story. They were blindsided and frustrated by the revelations, messaging officials back in Washington as they assessed the potential fallout, the officials said. Rubio’s team was preparing for a major speech on Western civilization he was set to give the next day at the Acropolis at sunset, a carefully choreographed event they worried could be overshadowed by the controversy. Just days earlier, Rubio had defended Guilfoyle as an “incredibly effective advocate” for Trump’s agenda and emphasized the administration “greatly valued” her.
When Rubio landed in Athens, Guilfoyle was waiting for him on the tarmac. She waved at the plane in front of cameras and greeted him with an embrace and kisses. The effusive welcome drew attention in the Greek press, with one headline reading: “First images of Rubio’s arrival in Athens: The Warm Welcome and Embrace with Guilfoyle.” Guilfoyle appeared eager to dispel any suggestions of a rift with Rubio, posting photos of their hug and other moments together on social media.
Trump aides had discussed firing her even as Rubio was still in Greece, some of the people said, but Rubio didn’t want any move against Guilfoyle to overshadow his trip. Before the president made his decision to urge Guilfoyle to resign, administration officials had discussed bringing Guilfoyle back from Athens for a conversation with Rubio and other officials aimed at nudging her out of her post, the people said.
Guilfoyle had crisscrossed the Balkans to persuade European governments to buy billions of dollars of American natural gas via the Greek company Aktor, whose CEO and top lobbyist often flew her on private jets and joined her in meetings, and its joint venture with a Greek government-backed energy firm. In the span of a few months, she helped corral a half-dozen countries — from Albania to Romania and Ukraine — into signing memorandums of understanding or other statements signaling their intent to buy American gas in place of Russian energy.
Since the Journal’s reporting, Albania’s Energy Ministry has said it is not fully convinced its arrangement would be economically viable and is waiting for a complete feasibility study. Ukraine’s state energy company, Naftogaz Group, told the Journal it has discontinued its negotiations. Romania’s state gas company Transgaz said its memorandum of understanding has expired. Lawyers for Aktor said a 20-year agreement to supply gas to Albania is “binding on the parties” and subject to international arbitration. The company said there are ongoing negotiations with Ukraine for spot contracts, and that it expects talks with Romania to continue.
The controversy quickly spilled into Greek politics. For days, Greek newspapers and tabloids splashed large photographs of Guilfoyle and the scandal across front pages. The country’s main opposition party demanded answers, questioning whether Guilfoyle had used her role to advance private business interests and calling for greater transparency over energy and defense agreements. Some in the opposition party asked whether Greek officials had done enough to challenge her conduct.
Guilfoyle’s path to the ambassadorship was unusual. The ex-wife of California Gov. Gavin Newsom and former assistant district attorney of San Francisco, she became a Fox News host and then started dating Donald Trump Jr. halfway through the first Trump administration. The couple got engaged before Trump left office during his first term. Once the relationship fell apart, Trump tapped her as his envoy to Athens. With two million Instagram followers and her constant travel companion, the stylist Fancy James, she became a potent symbol of a new school of American diplomacy under Trump that fuses celebrity, business and geopolitics. She also became the point person for a U.S. foreign policy priority that has occupied presidents since Barack Obama: convincing European countries that historically bought their gas from Russia to instead pay a premium for American gas.
Before Rubio’s visit to Greece, Guilfoyle worked to limit the fallout from negative media coverage. Early this month, she asked the State Department whether it could get an article in the Daily Mail, a British tabloid, removed from the internet, according to a person familiar with the matter. The article suggested she didn’t pay a €1,586 tab ($1,768) for two cases of Champagne and dinner. State Department officials asked if she could provide a receipt for the bill showing she paid, but she didn’t provide one, the person said.
In a Tuesday social-media post announcing her resignation, Guilfoyle expressed gratitude and support for Trump, saying the role in Athens had been “the honor of a lifetime” while dismissing the allegations against her as false. The post was quickly edited to add a line that had initially been missing: “My deepest heartfelt appreciation to the people of Greece for their hospitality, partnership, and welcoming me with open arms.”