Democratic representatives in the Oversight Committee of the House of Representatives in the US Congress have asked the US Ambassador to Greece, Kimberly Guilfoyle, to present her financial statements and correspondence after a publication accusing her of lobbying for payment before her departure for the diplomatic post, reports the Greek TV channel Sky.
According to an article in the “Wall Street Journal“ Shortly before her congressional confirmation hearing for the ambassadorship last year, Guilfoyle asked for money from a donor to President Donald Trump's campaign in exchange for access to U.S. government machinery.
Guilfoyle is the former fiancée of Donald Trump Jr., the president's son.
The publication alleges that shortly before her hearing, Guilfoyle asked Trump supporter Eric Deters to deposit $100,000 into her credit card account.
The two are said to have discussed the matter for months, with the future ambassador promising access to government machinery, and in return, Deters committing to paying a total of $1 million if Guilfoyle achieved the goal.
The publication says that Deters, a lawyer and businessman, paid Guilfoyle a total of $300,000 dollars in recent years. He said he asked her to help him establish contact with the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), but he claims Guilfoyle has not kept her promises.
A lawyer for Guilfoyle told the Wall Street Journal that the ambassador was legally paid for attending events before her appointment, and directly questioned the authenticity of the messages allegedly between her and Deeters.
The letter requesting Guilfoyle's financial records and correspondence was signed by Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia, a member of the Oversight Committee. It noted that the publication's allegations that Guilfoyle had entered into similar arrangements with other Trump donors raise serious "concerns about a culture of impunity." at the US Embassy in Athens.
The letter gives Guilfoyle until October 22 to submit the requested documents. These include her full financial records, as well as her correspondence for the past two years with Dieters and with government officials, including Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel and former Attorney General Pam Bondi.
A few days earlier, the “Wall Street Journal“ published allegations that during a dinner in Athens in March, Guilfoyle had said that the US could influence the fall of governments, citing the example of Romania. According to the publication, she added that the United States could do the same with other countries, including Greece.
Meanwhile, senior Democrats on the foreign affairs committees of both houses of Congress have sent letters to the State Department and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, demanding a formal investigation into "the ambassador's inappropriate conduct in the performance of her duties," PBS News reported. However, Rubio expressed support for Guilfoyle during a visit to Athens this week and declined to comment on the publications.