Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s odyssey to Greece was described as a rousing success until the Wall Street Journal broke the news that Ambassador Kimberly Guilfoyle tried to shake down a Donald Trump donor, according to The Hill.
The Journal reported late Wednesday that Guilfoyle asked Eric Deters, a Kentucky businessman and Trump supporter, to wire $100,000 to pay her American Express bill days before her July 2025 Senate confirmation hearing. “It won’t show up anywhere if you wire money to American Express that’s all that will show,” she allegedly texted him, CBS News reported. Deters says he never paid. He told CBS the request was a “quid pro quo,” while Guilfoyle called his claim “completely false.” Her lawyer, Jesse Binnall, has disputed the messages’ authenticity.
The Hill spoke to one person deeply involved in U.S.-Greek relations, who requested anonymity and called the chaos around Guilfoyle a “clown show” that “tainted” a successful Rubio visit.
The person said her conduct is unlikely to damage long-standing ties between Washington and Athens, but that it reinforced the idea that U.S. foreign policy is for sale and that closeness to Trump’s family and allies equals access. “It says, ‘we’re the merchants,’” the person said.
Rubio was forced to address the issue, which took him off message, with the Hill reporting it appeared to have blindsided members of the Trump administration.
“Our job is not to respond every time someone decides to give the media something without any advance warning, without having any chance to look at it and see what’s in there,” he told reporters while complaining that the story was “not the gospel."
The allegations follow a Journal report last month that Guilfoyle promoted the business interests of a Greek construction and energy company and let its lobbyist into private diplomatic meetings. She has denied wrongdoing.
Democrats have seized on the new report.
“Reports coming out regarding Amb. Guilfoyle’s conduct are deeply concerning and suggest potentially corrupt influences on U.S. foreign policy,” Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) said in a statement to The Hill. “I have already demanded answers from Secretary Rubio regarding her conduct and will continue to press for transparency and accountability. As I have said before, if these allegations are accurate, Amb. Guilfoyle is unfit to represent the United States abroad and should be removed from her position.”