US ambassador to Athens resigns due to pressure from the US government

In the end, the pressure became too great: the US ambassador to Greece, Kimberly Guilfoyle, resigned. She announced in a long post on Platform

In recent weeks, several reports have appeared in the US newspaper Wall Street Journal that spoke of Guilfoyle's allegedly questionable behavior. According to this, she is said to have suggested in Athens in March, for example, that the USA could be involved in an impending upheaval in the Romanian government - and could do the same in Greece.

$100,000 in credit card debt?

The Wall Street Journal also published news claiming that Guilfoyle had asked Trump donor Eric Deters for a $100,000 transfer. Guilfoyle, 57, needed the money to pay off debts with American Express. Deters was supposed to send the money in such a way that the transfer could no longer be traced afterwards.

US President Donald Trump expressed his displeasure with reports of Guilfoyle's behavior on Monday. "Well, we're looking at it," he replied to journalists who asked him at government headquarters whether he was considering firing the ambassador. "We are not satisfied."

Guilfoyle was an anchor on Fox News

Guilfoyle's lawyers deny any wrongdoing on their part. The payment demanded by the Trump donor is for unpaid public appearances and speaking events from the time before Guilfoyle's nomination as ambassador.

The 57-year-old was once married to the current Democratic governor of California, Gavin Newsom. She worked as a presenter on the US television channel Fox News and was also temporarily engaged to the president's son Donald Trump Junior.

Guilfoyle became a prominent supporter of the so-called MAGA (“Make America Great Again”) movement. About a year ago she came to Greece as ambassador. There she campaigned intensively for investments by American oil and gas companies in the region.

With information from Jasper Riemann, ARD Athens