President Trump and Secretary Rubio are considering firing U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle over conduct reports, a senior official said, as Democrats demand an investigation.
A senior U.S. official said Sunday that President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are “extremely pissed off” by Guilfoyle’s reported conduct. The official, speaking to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, said they would likely decide this week after Monday’s Columbus Day holiday.
Guilfoyle is the top U.S. diplomat in Athens. Published reports have alleged improper and possibly illegal conduct before and during her posting there. A second U.S. official said the State Department’s inspector general is looking into those claims. Trump and Rubio now have to decide whether America’s representative in Greece keeps the job.
Guilfoyle is a former Fox News Channel host and a former California prosecutor. She was once engaged to Trump’s son Donald Jr. She has remained a closely watched name in Republican political circles.
Her lawyer has said she did nothing wrong. She has not addressed the reports directly. The U.S. embassy in Athens has tacitly expressed support for her.
Rubio visited Athens last week while the allegations swirled. Guilfoyle attended most, if not all, of his events. She greeted him on arrival with a bear hug.
After the first report, Rubio defended her. He later declined to comment publicly as the claims grew. On Wednesday, with the visit still underway, he offered a short public line.
Rubio said:
"Our ambassador has been a strong ambassador here."
Another report appeared late Wednesday. By Thursday, before leaving Athens, Rubio faced more questions at the foot of his plane. Guilfoyle was there to see him off, as media commentary around Trump-world names kept building.
He said he did not know if the allegations were true. He said he would not respond if he could not confirm them. He then went after the press for treating unnamed sources as settled fact.
Rubio said:
"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. It’s not the gospel for me. That’s not the way we do things."
A senior official said Rubio had been particularly angry, not least because he had just been in Athens. The same official said Rubio had grown increasingly frustrated as the reports multiplied.
The Wall Street Journal’s allegations first began surfacing late last month, since late September, and have multiplied since. The paper has detailed numerous accounts of questionable conduct before and during her time in Athens.
While Rubio was still in Greece, the Journal reported, citing text messages, that Guilfoyle asked a Trump donor and supporter to pay a $100,000 credit card bill just before her confirmation hearing. The Journal said she promised him access to administration officials if he did.
The Journal’s first report also said she allegedly threatened a host-country official and accepted improper gifts and services. It said she told guests at a reception that the United States could undermine the Greek government if it chose to. It said she promoted the business interests of one Greek construction and energy company and allowed that company’s lobbyist into private diplomatic meetings.
The Journal further reported she was enraged about not being invited to a Greek-themed World Economic Forum event in Davos, Switzerland, earlier this year. It said she demanded to attend while boasting about luxury travel to France with energy company executives. The Daily Mail, the British tabloid, said she had alienated staff at the U.S. embassy and had pushed the bounds of behavior appropriate for the top U.S. representative to Greece.
A second U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters, said the inspector general is looking into the allegations. That official could not say whether a formal investigation had begun. The inspector general is the State Department’s internal watchdog for staff misconduct.
Inspectors general often run informal inquiries into complaints against staffers. Many of those reviews never become a full investigation. When they do, they can lead to discipline up to and including dismissal. The State Department has declined to comment on a potential inspector general investigation, a familiar posture in personnel controversies.
Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, one of the top two Democrats on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has called for an investigation. So has Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, one of the top two Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Rep. Robert Garcia, a California Democrat and ranking member on the House Oversight Committee, has done the same.
No firing has been announced. No charges have been filed. The decision, a senior official said, is likely to come this week after the holiday, a White House call for Trump and Rubio.
The president owes his people a fair look at the file. He owes the country a clean flag in Athens. Those two duties are not in conflict.