U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle faced intense scrutiny after text messages emerged showing her asking a Trump donor to pay a $100,000 credit card bill before her Senate confirmation. Top administration officials declined to condemn the allegations, while critics demanded her removal.
Fresh controversy engulfed the U.S. diplomatic corps after leaked text messages revealed that U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle pressed a political donor to cover a $100,000 American Express debt. The messages, published in a bombshell report, detail an urgent request sent just days before her Senate confirmation hearing. The 57-year-old former Fox News pundit and San Francisco prosecutor had complained to friends in the run-up to her confirmation that she was broke and needed to clear her liabilities, which included a boat loan between $100,000 and $250,000 and a mortgage valued between $1 million and $5 million as declared in February 2025 financial disclosures, alongside an earlier unsuccessful attempt to drum up money for a vodka company.
Text Messages Reveal Urgent Demands for Payment
The correspondence shows Guilfoyle reaching out to Eric Deters, a Kentucky businessman and former congressional candidate, on July 3, 2025. Her Senate confirmation hearing for the diplomatic post took place six days later on July 9. According to the documents shared with news outlets, Guilfoyle urged Deters to wire the funds directly to her credit card account.
Honey please I need you to get this done for me today,
she wrote, punctuating the message with a prayer-hands emoji and providing a PDF document detailing American Express wire instructions.
In another exchange uncovered by reporters, Guilfoyle attempted to ease any apprehension about the paper trail. It won’t show up anywhere if you wire money to American Express
she wrote via Signal, later cautioning Deters to stop writing down their interactions. What a nightmare. You’ll literally cost me my ambassadorship stop writing.
Eric Deters Details Years of Financial Exchanges with Trump World
Deters, who began working with Guilfoyle in 2020 after she appeared at an event in Kentucky called Freedom Fest, ultimately refused to pay the credit card bill, telling her that doing so would cost him his marriage. Speaking openly about the arrangement, he characterized the interactions without hesitation.
“Businessman Eric Deters said he has ‘no doubt it was pay to play,’ claiming Kimberly Guilfoyle, now the U.S. ambassador to Greece and ex-fiancee of Donald Trump Jr., asked him to wire $100,000 to pay her American Express bill in exchange for her help with the Trump administration ahead of Guilfoyle’s Senate confirmation hearing.”
Eric Deters, businessman and former congressional candidate, via CBS News
Deters stated that he had paid Guilfoyle a total of $300,000 over the years. He maintained that he was seeking the administration’s attention on personal and legal matters, including tax issues and his push to press for the extradition of an Ohio doctor who fled to Pakistan. Deters also wanted to chat with IRS Commissioner Billy Long about his case.
According to Deters, he also offered up to $1 million if Guilfoyle successfully lobbied on his behalf to secure an interview on Tucker Carlson’s podcast or an introduction to musician Kid Rock. While Guilfoyle did make inquiries regarding the podcast appearance and contacted IRS Commissioner Billy Long about his case, Deters argued he received no tangible favors in return for his financial support.
Guilfoyle Disputes Leaks as Administration Distances Itself
Guilfoyle’s legal team pushed back against the narrative presented in the leaks. Jesse Binnall, a lawyer representing Guilfoyle, told reporters that his client disputed the characterization of the exchange while asserting that any money given by Deters was owed as a balance for travel and speaking at patriotic events prior to her nomination—an assertion that Deters denied, maintaining he owed her nothing.
Meanwhile, high-ranking administration figures addressed reporters while attempting to distance themselves from the controversy. Vice President JD Vance, speaking during a press conference in Washington, addressed the nature of the allegations without confirming direct knowledge of the case, telling reporters he did not love the idea in the abstract but that details matter.
Of course, I don't like anybody selling access to another government official, certainly a high-level government official,
Vance said, adding that he would like to review the full story before offering a final opinion.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio declined to comment on the allegations while departing from an airport tarmac in Greece, telling reporters that international visits are not the proper venue to adjudicate unverified media reports. Meanwhile, top Democrats—including Senator Jeanne Shaheen and Representative Gregory Meeks—sent letters to Rubio calling for an immediate review and investigation into Ambassador Guilfoyle’s conduct, warning that such actions risk undermining U.S. diplomacy and credibility overseas.
Additional disclosures show that Deters previously paid Donald Jr. $200,000 for two appearances, Eric Trump $100,000, $125,000 for President Trump’s PAC, and $100,000 to go to the Kentucky Derby with Trump. Former lawyer Deters, who ran for Congress in Kentucky, also had his law license refused for reinstatement in 2021 by the Kentucky Supreme Court, which cited a notorious propensity
for filing malicious or frivolous lawsuits.
Right-wing commentator Scott Jennings admitted on CNN that the text messages are extremely unseemly. Guilfoyle, who was engaged to Donald Trump Jr. before they broke up in 2024, is the current U.S. ambassador to Greece. The State Department, the White House, and Guilfoyle’s attorney did not respond to requests for comment regarding these developments.
