Guilfoyle associate says when she asked him for $100K, it was "quid pro quo"
White House officials were told that text messages between Kimberly Guilfoyle and Eric Deters were real, sources told CBS News.
Key points
- Eric Deters says Kimberly Guilfoyle asked him to wire $100,000 to pay her American Express bill.
- Deters told CBS News he never sent the money and called it 'quid pro quo.'
- Guilfoyle's Senate confirmation hearing was on July 9; she is now U.S. ambassador to Greece.
Businessman Eric Deters told CBS News that Kimberly Guilfoyle, now U.S. ambassador to Greece, asked him to wire $100,000 to pay her American Express bill in exchange for help with the Trump administration. He said he never sent the money.
The Wall Street Journal first reported this week on texts between the two from last July, days before Guilfoyle's Senate confirmation hearing on July 9. Sources familiar with the matter told CBS News that White House officials were told the messages were authentic, and some Trump aides expressed displeasure about her actions.
What Deters said
Deters told CBS News on Thursday, "It was quid pro quo," and said Guilfoyle should lose her ambassadorship. He said he made up an excuse that his wife would not go along with the payment.
Deters said he has paid Guilfoyle and members of the Trump family in the past, including $300,000 to Guilfoyle for appearance fees. He said his relationship with her was purely political.
It was quid pro quo
— Eric Deters
Messages and response
According to screenshots provided to CBS News, Guilfoyle wrote on July 3 that wiring money to American Express would not show up anywhere, and asked him to get it done that day. She sent him a PDF of "American Express Instructions."
Secretary of State Marco Rubio declined to comment in Greece, saying the story had just posted and such matters are not handled at a press conference on a tarmac. Vice President JD Vance told CBS News he did not love the hypothetical but did not know the full details.
