A donor to President Donald Trump accused U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle of offering access to top Trump officials in exchange for cash.<\/p>\n
Eric Deters — a former lawyer, conservative media personality and Trump donor, alleged that Guilfoyle asked him to pay her $100,000 credit card bill in July 2025 — days before her Senate confirmation hearing.<\/p>\n
![\"a](\"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/3611a60a-4bdc-400f-b967-0b5a214d9341\/Kimberly-Guilfoyle-1-ap-gmh-261008_1791466890061_hpMain.jpg?w=375 "\\"a")
<\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div>U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle attends the opening Session of the U.S.-Greece Strategic Dialogue at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Athens, Oct. 7, 2026.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Mark Schiefelbein\/AP<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n “It was all quid pro quo,” Deters claimed to ABC News about the request from Guilfoyle, who is the former wife of California Gov. Gavin Newsom and ex-fiance of Donald Trump Jr.<\/p>\n Wall Street Journal first reported on Deters’ accusations.<\/p>\n Deters provided messages to ABC News he says he exchanged with Guilfoyle on the subject. In one message from that period, Deters alleges Guilfoyle wrote, “Honey please I need you to get this done for me today,” which Deters alleged was in reference to the desired credit card payment.<\/p>\n Kentucky gubernatorial candidate Eric Deters smiles at a comment before the start of the Kentucky Gubernatorial GOP Primary Debate in Lexington, Ky., May 1, 2023.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Timothy D. Easley\/AP<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Guilfoyle’s attorney disputed the messages’ authenticity to the Wall Street Journal, but did not provide specifics. Guilfoyle’s attorney also said the money could be a reimbursement for travel and speaking expenses. Deters denies he owed Guilfoyle any money.<\/p>\n Asked whether he thought Guilfoyle was asking for the payment in exchange for something, Deters told ABC News “absolutely.”<\/p>\n “She made it very clear, and the text messages make it very clear. She was so desperate for me to send that $100,000,” Deters said, adding that she said if he sent the money, she would help with his access to Trump administration officials.<\/p>\n Deters says he did not end up making the payment because he didn\u2019t have the money.<\/p>\n Deters is considered a controversial character in Kentucky politics.\u00a0He ran for Kentucky governor in 2023 and to represent Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District in the House in 2024; he lost both races in the primaries.<\/p>\n A former lawyer, Deters\u00a0had his law license first suspended in 2012\u00a0for actions in multiple cases including comments he made about a\u00a0judge and improper solicitation of a possible client. In 2021, in refusing to reinstate Deter’s law license, the\u00a0Kentucky Supreme Court said he had a “notorious propensity” for filing “malicious or frivolous lawsuits,” according to court documents.<\/p>\n Eric Deters speaks with ABC News, Oct. 8, 2026.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n ABC News<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Deters told ABC News that in exchange for money, he believed Guilfoyle would wield her influence to help him on specific issues, such as pressing for the extradition of an Ohio doctor who fled to Pakistan — a detail he first told the Wall Street Journal.<\/p>\n Deters says he separately offered Guilfoyle money to press for that extradition. The individual in question is still living in Pakistan.<\/p>\n ABC News has reached out to Guilfoyle, her attorney and the U.S. Embassy in Greece for comment and have not heard back.<\/p>\n In a statement to WSJ, the U.S. embassy in Greece said Guilfoyle’s “career in and out of public service is guided by deep and abiding values” and “the Ambassador remains committed to representing the American people with dedication and integrity.”<\/p>\n During an event focused on eliminating fraud on Thursday, Vice President JD Vance was asked for his reaction to a government official, specifically a U.S. ambassador, asking someone to pay off their debt in exchange for access to other government officials — an apparent reference to the Guilfoyle allegations.<\/p>\n Vance said he disapproves of people “selling access” to government officials, but denied knowledge about the particular instance being referenced.\u00a0<\/p>\n “Obviously, I don’t love that,” Vance said of the hypothetical scenario presented to him. He later added, “Of course, I don’t like anybody selling access to another government official. Certainly, a high-level government official.”<\/p>\n Secretary of State Marco Rubio sidestepped a question about Guilfoyle’s alleged conduct overnight while departing Athens, Greece.<\/p>\n “I don’t even know if it’s true or not true,” Rubio said. “So it’s just not going to work that way, and it will certainly not going to work that way when I’m sitting in another country.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"Athens\"](\"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/9266d986-f97d-4be7-9f11-08ef3c98791e\/Eric-deters-ap-gmh-261008_1791466880116_hpEmbed_3x2.jpg?w=375 "\\"Athens\\"")
<\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div>![\"bank](\"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/2759663e-41ca-4e78-8230-f3795a6155b8\/Eric-deters-abc-gmh-261008_1791467239507_hpMain_16x9.jpg?w=375 "\\"bank")
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