Eric Deters Claims Guilfoyle Asked Him to Pay $100,000 Amex Bill

A $100,000 American Express credit card debt and an urgent text message warning that a paper trail could cost her an ambassadorship have thrust U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle into a mounting political controversy. High-ranking members of the administration, including Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, declined to condemn the ambassador when pressed by reporters about allegations that she engaged in a quid pro quo with a Trump donor prior to her Senate confirmation according to the Washington Post.

The allegations stem from interactions between Guilfoyle and businessman Eric Deters ahead of her July 9, 2025, confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee according to the Mercury News. Deters told reporters and interviewers that Guilfoyle pressured him to wire $100,000 to American Express to clear her balance, promising in exchange to provide him with access to high-level Trump administration figures according to the Guardian according to CBS News.

Texts, Demands, and the Push for Access

In the run-up to her confirmation, Guilfoyle reportedly complained to friends that she was broke following the end of her engagement to Donald Trump Jr., with whom she had split after the 2024 presidential election according to the Mercury News. Financial disclosures filed in February 2025 showed liabilities including a mortgage worth between $1 million and $5 million and a boat loan ranging from $100,000 to $250,000 according to New York Magazine.

Deters shared a series of text exchanges with media outlets in which Guilfoyle urged him to fulfill the payment, writing, I have been officially announced honey please I need you to get this done for me today, accompanied by a prayer-hands emoji according to CBS News. In subsequent messages, she cautioned him against creating a permanent record of their arrangement, writing, What a nightmare, you’ll literally cost me my ambassadorship stop writing, and directing him to use the Signal application instead according to the Guardian.

Deters maintained that he never provided the requested funds, claiming he invented an excuse involving his wife to decline the payment according to CBS News. He also asserted that he had previously paid Guilfoyle and members of the Trump family hundreds of thousands of dollars for event appearances without receiving the political favors he desired in return according to CBS News.

Guilfoyle Denies Claims as Lawmakers Scrutinize Payments

Legal representatives for Guilfoyle have pushed back against the claims. Jesse Binnall, a lawyer for the ambassador, disputed the authenticity of the text messages published in reports, while noting that Guilfoyle was owed an outstanding balance for travel and speaking engagements undertaken prior to her diplomatic nomination according to the Guardian. Binnall stated that any payments made by Deters were strictly compensation for past speaking events according to the Mercury News.

The fallout has also drawn attention from Capitol Hill. Lawmakers, including Representative Gregory Meeks, the ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, have previously written to Secretary of State Marco Rubio requesting information regarding Guilfoyle’s conduct, her official relationships, and steps taken to prevent conflicts of interest according to the Guardian.

During a press briefing addressing the controversy, Rubio declined to comment on the allegations according to the Guardian. Vice President JD Vance similarly distanced himself from the specifics when questioned by reporters, stating, With that hypothetical, Jen, obviously I don’t love that. But I don’t know exactly who you’re talking about. I don’t know the full details according to the Guardian.