White House asks U.S. Ambassador to Greece Guilfoyle to resign

The White House said it has asked Kimberly Guilfoyle, the U.S. ambassador to Greece, to resign following a string of reported ethics allegations, including that she sought a donor’s help paying a $100,000 credit card bill.

The White House has asked Kimberly Guilfoyle, the U.S. ambassador to Greece, to step down, press secretary Katie Zacharia told reporters on Oct. 13. “We have asked Ambassador Guilfoyle to resign,” Zacharia said. It was not immediately clear whether Guilfoyle had resigned.

President Donald Trump said, “We’re not happy,” and The Associated Press reported that Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were upset over her reported conduct. A U.S. official said the State Department’s inspector general was looking into the allegations but could not confirm that a formal probe had begun.

The allegations

Guilfoyle visiting the destroyer USS Oscar Austin (file photo)

Since late September, The Wall Street Journal has reported that Guilfoyle allegedly asked a Trump donor to pay a $100,000 credit card bill shortly before her confirmation hearing while promising access to administration officials, accepted improper gifts and luxury travel, promoted the business interests of a Greek construction and energy company and threatened a host-country official. The Daily Mail reported she had alienated embassy staff in Athens.

Her lawyers, David Schwartz and Jesse Binnall, denied any wrongdoing, saying the money she sought was payment for public appearances that predated her nomination and that she followed State Department guidance before each trip. Democratic Reps. Gregory Meeks and Robert Garcia and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen have called for an investigation.

Guilfoyle, a former Fox News host and California prosecutor, was previously married to California Gov. Gavin Newsom and was engaged to Donald Trump Jr. Rubio had initially defended her as “a strong ambassador.”