Greece rejects summoning US ambassador Guilfoyle over WSJ threat report

Athens says no summons was warranted

Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis answered a parliamentary question from independent MP Sia Anagnostopoulou on 9 October about a Wall Street Journal report that US Ambassador Kimberly Guilfoyle had reportedly said that, just as the government in Romania fell, the United States could do the same in Greece. Anagnostopoulou had earlier called the matter a question of national dignity and asked that the ambassador be summoned to give explanations.

It is a matter of national dignity for the US ambassador to be called in and to give explanations for the phrase she reportedly made at a dinner, a topic that prominent American newspapers keep returning to and reproducing.

Gerapetritis said that pressure or a threat against Greece was never raised, and he pointed to Environment and Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou, who had given the same answer in parliament on 2 October. Papastavrou attended the dinner in Athens described in the report, and Gerapetritis said that made his account authoritative. The foreign minister added that Athens would have taken the same stance toward any other ambassador.

So calling an ambassador, possibly creating such a diplomatic situation while the minister present explicitly said there was no threat, I think is entirely unnecessary.

Rubio visit and the Pnyx speech

Gerapetritis used the two-day visit of US Foreign Minister Marco Rubio to argue that Greece no longer sees the United States as an advocate or patron. In his account, Greece, with its economic strength, defence capacity and diplomatic capital, is an equal partner and ally even of the world's most powerful states. He said the defence agreement fits within Greece's 20-year planning and reflects two things: Greece's decision to strengthen its defence, and the fact that Greece is a leading player in events rather than on the sidelines. Anagnostopoulou had criticised Rubio's speech at the Pnyx, with the Acropolis behind him, saying the 'ideology of MAGA' appeared against that backdrop. Gerapetritis answered that the Pnyx was where the Athenian assembly gathered and stood for freedom of expression, and concluded that people must be tolerant of each other's views.

The Wall Street Journal allegations

The Wall Street Journal reported that Guilfoyle asked Trump supporter Erik Deters to pay $100,000 into her credit card account shortly before a hearing on confirming her appointment. According to the report, the two had discussed the arrangement for months, with the ambassador promising him access to the government machinery, and Deters committing to pay up to $1 million if she achieved her goal. Deters, a lawyer and businessman, is reported to have paid her $300,000 in total in recent years. He told the paper that he had asked her to help him reach the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service, and that she never kept any promise. Guilfoyle's lawyer told the Journal she had been legally paid for speaking at events before her appointment and disputed the authenticity of the text messages with the donor.

Democrats and State Department scrutiny

Robert Garcia, the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, sent a letter a day after the WSJ report asking Guilfoyle to hand over her full financial records and two years of correspondence with Deters and administration officials, including FBI Director Kash Patel, by 22 October. Garcia wrote that the complaints raise serious 'concerns about a culture of impunity' at the US embassy in Athens. Separately, the Daily Mail reported that the State Department's Office of the Inspector General is examining complaints about possible substance abuse, inappropriate gifts and her close ties to a company active in energy and construction. The paper cited embassy staff complaints, lodged less than a year after Guilfoyle took up the post, including the removal of two drivers over how they made a left turn and of a security official who did not answer a call at 4 in the morning asking for ice while she was in Mykonos. These accounts have not been presented as confirmed findings of an official inquiry. The Daily Beast had earlier reported that she sought free meals, expensive wines and the construction of a $58,000 basketball court at her Athens residence, and the State Department had not immediately responded to its request for comment.