Kimberly Guilfoyle: Allegations of bribery against US ambassador to Greece

"We've seen in the reports, it's very disturbing, it's concerning," Republican Senator John Barrasso told CBS News. He assumes that the State Department will open an investigation. In addition, the responsible committee in the Senate will take up the matter.

The Wall Street Journal had previously published news that Guilfoyle had asked Trump donor Eric Deters for a transfer of $100,000. Accordingly, Guilfoyle is said to have made the urgent request a few days before its hearing in the Senate. Guilfoyle needed the money to pay off debts to the credit card company American Express.

The current ambassador was once engaged to Donald Trump Jr., the president's eldest son. Between 2001 and 2006 she was married to Democrat Gavin Newsom, who is said to have ambitions for the White House in the 2028 election.

According to the newspaper, Guilfoyle had been in contact for months with Deters, who had asked her for help in bringing the Trump administration's attention to personal tax and legal matters - and was said to have promised her payments of up to $1 million if successful. According to Deters, however, no payment was ever made.

“Honey, please, you have to do this for me today,” she wrote to Deters, adding a folded hands emoji and a file with payment instructions. Deters was supposed to send the money in such a way that the transfer could no longer be traced afterwards.

Ambassador rejects allegations

As the Wall Street Journal reported, Guilfoyle, according to her lawyer, disputes the authenticity of the messages. She was owed money for public appearances before her Senate hearing. However, Deters told the Wall Street Journal that he had no debts to Guilfoyle.

"It was clearly a case of money for favors," Deters told CBS News. At no time did he intend to actually send Guilfoyle any money, he claimed. Instead, he made up an excuse. As CBS News reported, Deters shared the text messages with the network showing Guilfoyle's request for the $100,000. Deters is considered a long-time supporter of US President Donald Trump. He had unsuccessfully run for political office in the US state of Kentucky several times.

However, numerous media outlets are now reporting that Rubio and Trump are extremely upset about Guilfoyle's behavior. A replacement is therefore up for debate. There have been new reports of potential misconduct for weeks. The Wall Street Journal reported that Guilfoyle is said to have repeatedly supported a certain construction and energy company. It is also alleged that she treated the embassy staff in Athens badly. And then there are the reports that she bragged about being able to topple governments. Guilfoyle himself denies any wrongdoing.

In the previous days, several Democrats had already called for a complete investigation - including Robert Garcia, the highest-ranking Democrat on the House of Representatives Oversight Committee. "This is the latest case in a long line of corruption allegations surrounding the Trump administration, and we demand answers," he said. If the allegations are true, it would be a case of blatant abuse of power.

Married to Gavin Newsom, engaged to Donald Trump Jr.: Kimberly Guilfoyle was active on both sides of the US political spectrum. The woman who is said to have announced the overthrow of Romania's government has a dubious reputation. More about that here.