By Bosphorus News Geopolitics Desk
President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are considering removing Kimberly Guilfoyle as U.S. ambassador to Greece, the Associated Press reported on October 11, citing a senior U.S. official. The discussions follow allegations involving a political donor, private aircraft travel and a lobbyist's access to official meetings.
The official said a decision could come later this week, after the October 12 U.S. federal holiday. No dismissal had been publicly announced as of Monday.
Guilfoyle's attorneys rejected allegations of wrongdoing in an October 10 statement and defended her travel arrangements. They did not address separate questions concerning her contacts with a lobbyist for a Greek energy and construction company.
The $100,000 request and a disputed debt
The Wall Street Journal reported that Guilfoyle asked Trump donor Eric Deters in July 2025 to transfer $100,000 to her American Express account, shortly before her Senate confirmation hearing. The newspaper cited messages linking their financial dealings to offers of access to senior Trump administration officials. Deters said he refused the request.
Her lawyers said the payment demands arose from work Guilfoyle had performed before entering government service. Jesse Binnall and David M. Schwartz said Deters still owes her approximately $150,000 for speeches and consulting in 2024 and early 2025. Their statement did not separately address the alleged American Express messages.
According to the lawyers, Deters signed a May 20, 2024 agreement with a booking agency for a $200,000 fee due by May 31. He made partial payments but left a balance unpaid, they said. The statement refers to a contract, messages and a sworn witness account without attaching them.
The attorneys described the dispute as "a delinquent client being asked to pay an overdue bill." They also said Deters offered Guilfoyle $1 million to promote his medical malpractice litigation to administration officials and that she refused.
Congress seeks answers on lobbying and travel
In an October 1 letter released on October 6, Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the senior Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, questioned the participation of Christos Marafatsos, a registered lobbyist associated with Greece's Aktor Group, in official meetings with Guilfoyle. She sought information about his authorization, disclosure of clients and possible conflicts of interest.
Shaheen also cited reporting that Guilfoyle had referred to political change in Romania at a March dinner and suggested Washington could bring about similar change in Greece. The account remains an allegation and was not addressed in the attorneys' response.
On October 10, Representative Gregory Meeks, the senior Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, asked the State Department's inspector general to investigate and called for Guilfoyle to answer questions under oath. AP separately reported, citing another U.S. official, that the inspector general was looking into the allegations. The department had not publicly clarified the status of any formal inquiry.
Guilfoyle's lawyers said she obtained and followed State Department guidance before using private aircraft and complied with federal ethics, gift and reporting requirements. They did not attach that guidance to their statement.
Guilfoyle's energy brief in Athens
The lawyers also cited Guilfoyle's work on U.S. energy exports, the U.S.-Greece partnership and the Vertical Corridor, a route intended to move gas north from Greece into European markets.
Guilfoyle attended a June meeting with Greek energy officials and Chevron representatives as Athens approved steps toward Chevron's entry into the Block 10 offshore gas concession in the Ionian Sea. Under the arrangement, Chevron would take a 70% stake and the operator role, with HELLENiQ ENERGY retaining 30%. Chevron was not named in the Aktor-related allegations.
An August IBNAEU analysis carried by Bosphorus News examined the political appointments of Guilfoyle and Israeli Ambassador Pninat Yanay in Athens and the energy, defense and commercial priorities associated with their missions.
A September analysis of Washington's regional diplomatic appointments placed Guilfoyle's role alongside those of Tom Barrack in Türkiye and John Breslow in Cyprus. It drew on her Senate testimony on Greek military procurement, American liquefied natural gas and regional energy infrastructure.
During his October 7 visit to Athens for the U.S.-Greece Strategic Dialogue, Rubio said, "Our ambassador has been a strong ambassador here." Four days later, AP reported that he and Trump were considering her removal.
Sources: Associated Press, The Wall Street Journal, U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, Reuters, Greek Environment and Energy Ministry, statement by Guilfoyle's attorneys, IBNAEU, Bosphorus News review and reporting.