The ambassador to Greece asked a donor for $100,000 for her credit card bill, then resigned at the White House's request

What happened

The Journal, which reported the messages on Oct. 7, 2026, said they show months of exchanges in which Deters, a Kentucky lawyer and businessman, sought help with tax and legal problems and offered up to $1 million if she helped, and that Guilfoyle forwarded his messages to the IRS and said she was lobbying the Justice Department for him. In a July 3, 2025 message she wrote that wiring money to American Express would not show up anywhere and asked him to get it done that day; her hearing was July 9.

Deters told CBS News he regards it as a quid pro quo and made up an excuse not to pay, that he had given her $300,000 over the years without a favor in return, and that she should lose the ambassadorship. CBS reported that White House officials were told the texts are authentic and that some Trump aides were displeased. Guilfoyle had earlier drawn scrutiny for promoting a Greek company whose lobbyist traveled with her in the Balkans.

On Oct. 10 NBC News reported, citing two people familiar with the matter, that the State Department's inspector general has opened an investigation of Guilfoyle and the embassy she leads; the department and the inspector general declined to comment, according to copies of the report carried by Newser and Us Weekly. The Daily Mail had reported earlier in the week, citing unnamed sources, that the inspector general was examining her workplace conduct, including the use of private aircraft and gift acceptance.

Deters told NBC News on Oct. 8 that the request was a quid pro quo and gave the network what he says are copies of the messages. ABC News reported that Deters also says he believed Guilfoyle would press for the extradition of an Ohio doctor who had fled to Pakistan, and noted that his Kentucky law license was suspended in 2012 and that the state's Supreme Court refused to restore it in 2021, citing his record of filing malicious or frivolous lawsuits.

On Oct. 12, 2026, asked by reporters whether he was considering firing Guilfoyle, Trump said, 'We're looking at it, yeah. We're not happy.' NBC News's own report, dated Oct. 9, says the inspector general is investigating both Guilfoyle and the embassy she leads, that a senior diplomatic official called such a probe rare, and that Rep. Gregory Meeks, the senior Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has asked Secretary Rubio for information about the Journal's other allegations; Guilfoyle's lawyer told the Journal she disputes the messages' authenticity, and her representatives deny wrongdoing.

On Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, White House press secretary Katie Zacharia told reporters, 'We have asked Ambassador Guilfoyle to resign', and Guilfoyle posted shortly afterward that her time in the post was coming to an end, repeating that the allegations are false and that she will defend her name, reputation and integrity; a White House official later confirmed receiving her formal resignation.

Trump said she 'wasn't a member of my family' and that he had not spoken with her personally. Al Jazeera, citing the AP and the Journal, listed the other allegations: that she told guests at a reception she could use U.S. influence to undermine the Greek government, that she promoted the interests of a Greek construction and energy company, and that she let one of that company's lobbyists attend private diplomatic meetings; a separate Journal report said she boasted of private jet trips paid for by Greek businessmen.

ABC News reported that the State Department's inspector general is investigating alleged misconduct, according to two officials, and that its findings could be shared with the Justice Department; U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said the department would wait to see the outcome of the inspector general's inquiry. Her attorneys say Deters owed her about $150,000 for speeches and consulting work done before her nomination, which he denies, and that the messages have not been authenticated. She had held the post for nearly a year.

Where it stands

Alleged: no court has ruled, no charges have been filed and the inspector general has made no finding. The accusation of a quid pro quo comes from Deters, with the messages he supplied, and from the Journal's and ABC News's reporting; the State Department's inspector general is investigating, and the Justice Department says it is waiting for that inquiry.

Guilfoyle resigned on Oct. 13, 2026, at the White House's request, which is why this story moved from the Watchlist (Watch 19) to The Record. Rep. Gregory Meeks, the senior Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, had called for her removal; no Republican lawmaker's statement appeared in the coverage opened. The U.S. Embassy in Athens said she 'faithfully followed State Department ethics and gift reporting guidelines'.

The administration's side

Guilfoyle called Deters's accusation completely false and sent CBS News a letter she wrote to IRS Commissioner Billy Long as evidence of her work on his tax issue. Her lawyer told the Journal he disputed the authenticity of the messages but did not say why. A U.S. Embassy official said she was vetted by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and confirmed by the full Senate and remains committed to serving the American people.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, asked in Greece, said the story was not the gospel and had been posted only hours earlier; Vice President Vance said he did not love the hypothetical but did not know the details. The State Department and the White House did not give CBS News a statement. Rubio, asked again on Oct. 8 in Greece, said he did not know whether the report was true and would not litigate it through the press while abroad, having called Guilfoyle a strong ambassador the day before.

Vance said on Oct. 9 that the allegations are one person's story, that the administration does not try people in the court of public opinion, and that if something bad happened, people have to suffer consequences. In asking for her resignation the White House gave no reason beyond Zacharia's statement, and Trump distanced himself from her.

Guilfoyle says the allegations are false, that the money she sought was payment for earlier speaking engagements and public appearances she had not received, and that she intends to defend her name; the embassy said she followed State Department ethics and gift reporting rules.

Sources

• CBS News
• Wall Street Journal via Mediaite
• Newser (NBC News report)
• Us Weekly via AOL (NBC News report)
• Denver Gazette (Rubio)
• The National Desk (Vance)
• ABC News (Deters's account and background)
• Reuters via GV Wire (Trump's remark)
• Axios (Trump's remark)
• NBC News via NBC New York (inspector general)
• ABC News (resignation)
• Al Jazeera (resignation)