US Ambassador Guilfoyle dismissed in Athens – allegations of bribery
Kimberly Guilfoyle has had to vacate her post as US Ambassador to Greece. Reports of alleged bribery had previously created political pressure.
White House asks Guilfoyle to resign following corruption allegations
The White House has asked US Ambassador Kimberly Guilfoyle to step down from her post in Athens. "We have asked Ambassador Guilfoyle to resign," said White House spokesperson Katie Zacharia in response to journalists' questions. "She was a great addition to the team, and we wish her all the best." Zacharia provided no further details on the personnel matter.
According to reporting by Kleine Zeitung, the Wall Street Journal had previously published messages that were said to show that Guilfoyle had asked Trump supporter Eric Deters to transfer $100,000. She needed the money to settle debts with American Express. Deters was allegedly supposed to route the payment in such a way that it could not be traced afterwards.
Guilfoyle (57) was once engaged to Donald Trump Jr., the president's eldest son. Deters is considered a long-time supporter of President Donald Trump.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Guilfoyle had been in contact with Deters for months, who was said to have asked her for help drawing the Trump administration's attention to his tax and legal matters. In the case of success, she was promised payments of up to one million dollars. Deters stated, however, that no actual payment had ever been made.
According to her attorney, Guilfoyle disputes the authenticity of the published messages. She said she was owed money for public appearances before her Senate hearing. Deters contradicted this in his comments to the newspaper, stating that he had no debts to Guilfoyle.
In the days before the resignation request, several members of Congress had called for clarification of the allegations. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had publicly stood behind Guilfoyle just the previous week.
Source: Kleine Zeitung