Kimberly Guilfoyle $100,000 texts
PoliticsThe Kimberly Guilfoyle $100,000 texts are the kind of story that makes career diplomats wince. According to messages reviewed by The Wall Street Journal and published late Wednesday, the U.S. ambassador to Greece — and former fiancee of Donald Trump Jr. — spent the days before her Senate confirmation hearing pressing a wealthy Trump donor to wire $100,000 to her American Express account, urging him to do it in a way that would leave no paper trail. "Honey please I need you to get this done for me today," she wrote on July 3, 2025, six days before the hearing. The donor never sent the money. But the exchange — part of hundreds of messages, emails and letters reviewed by the Journal — has now drawn calls from congressional Democrats for a State Department investigation, and an extraordinary public silence from the Trump administration's top diplomat.
What the Journal says it found
Months of contact linked Guilfoyle and Eric Deters, a suspended Northern Kentucky attorney who failed in a 2023 run for governor and a 2024 run for the House. Deters sought her help with the Trump administration on personal tax and legal matters and dangled up to $1 million.
She forwarded him messages she said she sent to the new IRS chief, updated him on lobbying the Justice Department and tried to book him a Tucker Carlson interview. Carlson told the Journal he'd never heard of Deters: "A million dollars for a podcast appearance? Isn't she the ambassador to Greece? This is completely nuts."
On July 3, 2025, via Signal, Guilfoyle sent a PDF with bill-payment instructions. "Honey please I need you to get this done for me today," she wrote with a prayer-hands emoji. "You could just send it here," she added. Then: "It won't show up anywhere if you wire money to American Express." Deters didn't pay. He said it would end his marriage.
The woman in the middle of it
Guilfoyle is a former Fox News host and prosecutor, a Trump surrogate, Donald Trump Jr.'s former fiancee and a Mar-a-Lago fixture. Her ambassador post was widely viewed as a loyalty reward in a strategically vital allied capital.
Ambassadors are the president's personal representatives. Senate confirmation is premised on their ability to embody American integrity abroad.
'It won't show up anywhere': why seven words matter
The paper-trail line matters in the context of a Senate-confirmed nominee days before her hearing and the exhaustive financial disclosures that accompany that process. "It won't show up anywhere" is not an ordinary way to describe payment of a legitimate debt when the recipient is about to ask senators for public trust.
The story does not allege a completed transaction. Deters never paid. Guilfoyle's lawyer, Jesse Binnall, disputes the messages' authenticity without offering specifics and says she was owed money for prior event appearances. The Journal reviewed hundreds of messages, emails and letters, and Deters confirmed the exchange.
Rubio's silence, in Athens, with Guilfoyle watching
On Thursday, October 8, Rubio was wrapping a visit to Greece when he was asked about the report, with Guilfoyle nearby seeing him off. He refused to engage and said he had seen the report but had "no idea" if it was true. "You guys walk around thinking that because some source told you something and you reported it, it's the gospel. It's not the gospel," he said.
At a joint news conference with the Greek foreign minister, Rubio declined to address the allegations on foreign soil. "Suffice it to say our embassy here is doing a great job. Our ambassador has been a strong ambassador here," he said. He also delivered a speech urging Europe to return to its "civilizational roots."
Why this matters beyond the gossip
First, this is a pattern, not a lapse. It is the second Wall Street Journal investigation in roughly a month. The earlier report said Guilfoyle promoted a Greek company whose lobbyist traveled with her to government meetings. That report already prompted Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations and House Foreign Affairs committees to urge a State Department review.
Second, Greece is a NATO ally on Europe's southeastern flank. It sits at the center of energy routes, migration policy and the eastern Mediterranean posture. An ambassador under a cloud is a strategic liability.
Third, the episode tests the administration's own standards. Trump's anti-weaponization theme sits uneasily beside a report that an ambassador offered to lean on the IRS and Justice Department for a donor.
The numbers behind the story
The $100,000 American Express ask is roughly two-thirds of a typical year's pay for such a public-service post — a striking debt load days before a hearing. Deters dangled $1 million. Six days separated the July 3 texts and the July 9 hearing. The Journal reviewed hundreds of messages, emails and letters, not a single screenshot.
What happens next
A State Department review: The inspector general or Diplomatic Security could examine the record. Such reviews are slow, often quiet, but constraining.
Congressional pressure: Oversight hearings and possible testimony demands could follow.
Recall: Presidents can remove ambassadors. But Guilfoyle is a family-adjacent MAGA celebrity, and firing her would read as an admission. The likeliest near-term outcome is Rubio's playbook: defend the person, starve the story.
The Athens factor: The Greek government is watching. An ambassador under investigation at home negotiates from weakness.
"Nothing happens" is also possible.
The bottom line
The Kimberly Guilfoyle $100,000 texts may or may not end a diplomatic career. They've exposed the machinery of access: encrypted messages, dangled millions, and the conflation of personal debt and public favor. Whether the system corrects itself or absorbs the embarrassment will say much about enforcement standards. The ambassador remains at her post. The secretary isn't talking. The texts speak for themselves.
Sources
- The Wall Street Journal — "'Honey Please': Kimberly Guilfoyle Pushed Donor to Wire $100,000 to Her Amex Account" (Oct. 7, 2026)
- Associated Press via LA Post — "Rubio refuses to comment on Guilfoyle allegations" (Oct. 8, 2026)
- Cincinnati Enquirer — "Report claims Guilfoyle asked Eric Deters to pay her credit card bill" (Oct. 8, 2026)
- Daily Caller — "'Won't Show Up Anywhere': Kimberly Guilfoyle Reportedly Asked Trump Donor For Shady $100k Wire Transfer" (Oct. 7, 2026)
- TMZ — "Kimberly Guilfoyle Reportedly Begged Trump Donor To Send $100K To Her Amex Account" (Oct. 7, 2026)