Marco Rubio brushes off questions about Kimberly Guilfoyle pressing donor to pay credit card

Read the original at The Guardian ↗
The Guardian · collected 2026-10-08 · by Ariana Baio

Quick Summary

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio dismissed questions about Kimberly Guilfoyle, the US Ambassador to Greece, facing new allegations that she asked a Trump donor to pay her $100,000 American Express bill in exchange for access. Rubio, while visiting Athens on Wednesday, refused to comment, stating that such reports are not gospel truth and praising Guilfoyle's performance as ambassador. Top Democrats from the House foreign affairs and Senate foreign relations committees have called for an investigation into these allegations, raising concerns about US credibility overseas and potential conflicts of interest.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-08, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

Kimberly Guilfoyle, the U.S. Ambassador to Greece and a Trump family ally, is facing allegations of improper behavior before her confirmation hearing. The Wall Street Journal reported that Guilfoyle asked Eric Deters, a Trump donor, to pay off her $100,000 Amex bill in exchange for access to top administration officials. In texts obtained by the WSJ, Guilfoyle repeatedly urged Deters to wire money directly to American Express and promised him influence within the Trump administration if he complied.

During a visit to Athens, Marco Rubio, U.S. Secretary of State, refused to comment on these allegations when questioned by reporters. He stated that simply because a source reported something does not make it "gospel." Meanwhile, top Democrats on both the House foreign affairs and Senate foreign relations committees have called for an investigation into Guilfoyle's conduct as ambassador, though no official probe has been initiated yet.

Written for “Guilfoyle Corruption Allegations” on 2026-10-08, grounded in this article and the 3 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted verbatim and was checked against the article text before being stored, so you can find it in the original.
Reading Leans right (beta estimate) Confidence high 2 quote(s) discarded as not found in the article
Leaning: leans right for article 66260 (high confidence, 2 verified quotes) · logged 2026-10-08

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
22
claim-shaped sentences
Uncertain
14%
3 of 22 hedged
Leaning
Leans right
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Correction & hedging signals
68.4
corrections and hedging in what we collected; not a measure of accuracy
Outlets on this story
4
Politics
Narrative spread
1
articles carrying this framing
Analyzed 2026-10-08 · how these are computed

Story

📰 Guilfoyle Corruption Allegations
Politics · 4 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans right and hedges 14% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Toronto Star
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 50% hedged 1 of 2 📰 publisher trust 63
“Both articles describe Rubio's refusal to comment on allegations against Guilfoyle involving a $100,000 credit card bill and access to administration officials, based on the same Wall Street Journal report.”
New York Post
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 24% hedged 7 of 29 📰 publisher trust 66
“Both articles refer to the same incident where Kimberly Guilfoyle requested a Trump donor to pay her $100K AmEx bill in exchange for access to top officials, specifically before her confirmation as Greece ambassador.”
The Bulwark
⚖️ Leans left further left than this 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 3
“The articles discuss related allegations involving Kimberly Guilfoyle but describe different aspects of the incident—one focuses on a live video discussion about leaked texts while the other reports on Marco Rubio's reaction to questions regarding Guilfoyle.”

Publisher

The Guardian · 1516 article(s) · 4 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 4 correction(s)
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Who wrote this

Ariana Baio
22 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 “In advance of your upcoming travel to Greece, I request an immediate review of Ambassador Guilfoyle’s actions and a clarification of what steps have and will be taken to avoid undue influence and even the appearance of a conflict of interest.
🔮 Trump, who picked Paxton to run as the Republican in the Texas Senate race, will join Paxton at a rally in San Antonio on Wednesday evening.
🔮 Other election deniers have planted seeds of doubt about the predicted outcome of the 2026 midterm elections.
🔮 Earlier this year, Trump chose Paxton to run against Talarico, a political newcomer who Democrats hope will flip Texas’s longtime red senate seat to blue in the midterm elections next month.
🔮 CBS News was the first to report that Clayton would be appointed White House AI czar.
🔮 For years, undocumented immigrants, who had been living in the US could be released back into their communities on bond, so long as they did not pose a threat to safety or were considered a flight risk.
🔮 The Trump administration may deport immigrants to a “third country”, or a country other than their homeland, without providing them an opportunity to dispute due to humanitarian concerns, the supreme court said in a brief order on Tuesday.
🔮 Schmitt, who called Smith a “dirtbag”, claimed the prosecutor went to Atlanta to attend a Hawks game on 3 February 2024, and insinuated Smith may have met with Fani Willis, the former Fulton county district attorney who brought state charges against Trump.
🔮 Andrew Bailey, a deputy director of the FBI who has been overseeing some of Trump’s election-related investigations, will step down from his position approximately one year after assuming his role.
🔮 Powerful Republicans, including Texas senator John Cornyn, said they would not support French in the upcoming election.
Also by Ariana Baio
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 22 articles by Ariana Baio →

Topics

Greece Greek House Senate the Wall Street Journal

Subjects

Guilfoyle PERSON · 16× Rubio PERSON · 7× Trump PERSON · 6× Deters PERSON · 5× the Wall Street Journal ORG · 4× American Express ORG · 3× Greece GPE · 3× Greek NORP · 3× Meeks PERSON · 3× Shaheen PERSON · 3×

Narrative

Concerns about Guilfoyle’s conduct were first raised in September when the Wall Street Journal reported she had used her position to invite Greek lobbyists to sit in on official diplomatic meetings and promoted the business interests of one particular Greek construction and energy company.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-08
🔮 “In advance of your upcoming travel to Greece, I request an immediate review of Ambassador Guilfoyle’s actions and a clarification of what steps have and will be taken to avoid undue influence and even the appearance of a conflict of interest.

Claims (22 extracted, 3 hedged)

Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, brushed off reporters’ questions about recent reports that Kimberly Guilfoyle, the US ambassador to Greece and Trump family ally, used her position to advance personal interests. asserted
Guilfoyle → brush → interests
Rubio refused to respond to the latest allegations against Guilfoyle, raised in a Wall Street Journal report, claiming she asked a Trump donor to pay her $100,000 American Express bill in exchange for access to the administration, before her US senate confirmation hearing. asserted
she → refuse → hearing
“You guys somehow walk around thinking that because some source told you something, and you reported it, it’s the gospel. asserted
it → walk → it
It’s not the gospel, it’s not the gospel for me,” Rubio told reporters while visiting Athens on Wednesday. asserted
Rubio → ’ → Wednesday
Rubio refused to answer questions regarding Guilfoyle’s reported conduct, the second report of its kind, instead saying “our embassy here is doing a great job” and “our ambassador has been a strong ambassador here”. asserted
ambassador → refuse → job
The top Democrats on the House foreign affairs and Senate foreign relations committees have asked Rubio to open an investigation into Guilfoyle’s conduct as an ambassador, though it’s unclear whether this has happened. uncertain
this → ask → ambassador
A lawyer for Guilfoyle told the newspaper that she was “owed a balance” for travel and speaking at events before her nomination. asserted
she → tell → nomination
Deters told the Wall Street Journal that he did not owe Guilfoyle any balance. asserted
he → tell → balance
Concerns about Guilfoyle’s conduct were first raised in September when the Wall Street Journal reported she had used her position to invite Greek lobbyists to sit in on official diplomatic meetings and promoted the business interests of one particular Greek construction and energy company. asserted
she → raise → company
Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the ranking Democrat on the Senate foreign relations committee sent a letter to Rubio on Tuesday, asking him to look into the allegations against Guilfoyle. asserted
Shaheen → send → Guilfoyle
“Such actions do not serve US credibility overseas and risk undermining US diplomacy,” Shaheen wrote. asserted
Shaheen → serve → diplomacy
“In advance of your upcoming travel to Greece, I request an immediate review of Ambassador Guilfoyle’s actions and a clarification of what steps have and will be taken to avoid undue influence and even the appearance of a conflict of interest. asserted
I → request → interest
Separately, Gregory Meeks, the ranking Democrat on the House foreign affairs committee, sent a letter to Rubio in September, requesting more information about Guilfoyle’s conduct, her relationship with the Greek construction and energy company and her relationship with the lobbyist. asserted
Meeks → send → lobbyist
“If these reports are accurate, Ambassador Guilfoyle is unfit to represent the United States abroad and should be removed from her position,” Meeks wrote. asserted
Meeks → represent → position
The couple ended their engagement in 2024, and shortly after taking office, Donald Trump nominated Guilfoyle to be ambassador to Greece. asserted
Trump → end → Greece
But now further allegations accuse Guilfoyle of promising a Trump donor, Eric Deters, access to the Trump administration in exchange for a $100,000 payment to American Express. asserted
allegations → accuse → Express
Deters shared messages exchanged between himself and Guilfoyle with the Wall Street Journal in which she reportedly pleaded: “Honey please I need you to get this done for me today.” uncertain
this → share → me
Deters said Guilfoyle has promised himshe would “be your Trump ride or die, forever and ever” if he made the American Express balance. asserted
he → say → balance
Deters said he never made the payment. asserted
he → say → payment
A lawyer for Guilfoyle disputed the authenticity of messages Deters shared with the Wall Street Journal. asserted
Deters → dispute → Journal
It’s unclear whether Shaheen or Meeks will ask Rubio for further information about the latest report. uncertain
Shaheen → ’ → report
The Guardian has asked Meeks and Shaheen for comment. asserted
Guardian → ask → comment
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