State Department investigates Guilfoyle, Trump’s ambassador to Greece, donor accuses her of asking for $100,000 in exchange for influence in White House

The State Department's Office of the Inspector General, the internal body that oversees U.S. diplomacy, is reportedly investigating the ambassador to Greece, Kimberly Guilfoyle, and the embassy she heads, according to two people familiar with the case who spoke to NBC News. The investigation comes amid an allegation by a donor of President Donald Trump, who claims she asked him for $100,000 to pay off her credit card in exchange for access to the White House.

The allegation came to light on Wednesday, following a report by The Wall Street Journal. According to the newspaper, which obtained text messages and Signal messages, Guilfoyle wrote in July 2025 — days before her Senate confirmation hearing — to Eric Deters, a lawyer, businessman and Trump donor who ran for Congress in Kentucky.

Deters stated that the ambassador asked him to pay off the $100,000 balance on her American Express card via direct deposit.

"It won’t show up anywhere if you wire money to American Express," reads one of the messages, according to texts reviewed by the WSJ and also obtained by NBC News.

Deters claims that, in exchange, she offered to help him reach high-ranking government officials. He says he did not pay. "She was so desperate for that $100,000. It was a quid pro quo," he told NBC News.

Guilfoyle's defense team, however, denies the allegation. Her attorney, Jesse Binnall, told the newspaper that she does not acknowledge those messages as authentic, though he did not provide details. According to other media outlets, her defense maintains that Deters owed her fees for speaking at events, something he denies. CBS News reported, for its part, that White House officials were told the messages were real, according to unnamed sources. The White House declined to comment.

Neither the Office of the Inspector General nor the State Department confirmed the investigation when asked. The former stated that it neither confirms nor denies investigations, and the latter declined to comment.

NBC cites two sources, and the story had been first reported by the British tabloid Daily Mail. A senior diplomatic official told NBC that the case set off alarm bells at the department because that agency typically conducts routine inspections at embassies rather than investigations.

Vice President JD Vance said that "these are accusations" and that no one should be judged "in the court of public opinion." On Thursday, in Athens, Secretary of State Marco Rubio responded sharply to a reporter who asked him about the issue while he was standing next to Guilfoyle. "I don’t even know if what you’re reporting is true," he said.

Democratic Representative Gregory Meeks, his party's ranking member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, wrote to Rubio last week requesting information about other allegations the WSJ published regarding Guilfoyle's tenure.

So far, no official has confirmed the allegations, and the scope of the investigation is unknown.