The State Department is officially investigating complaints into Ambassador Kimberly Guilfoyle’s allegedly ‘tyrannical’ leadership and lavish corporate perks at the US Embassy in Athens, the Daily Mail can exclusively reveal.
Five sources have confirmed to the Daily Mail that a formal Department of State Office of Inspector General (OIG) probe has been opened into Guilfoyle, 57, and her US embassy in Athens.
Three sources say the IG is looking into allegations surrounding Guilfoyle’s potential substance abuse, use of private planes and helicopters, close relationship with an energy and construction company, improper gift acceptance and more.
The probe follows extensive reporting by the Daily Mail into Guilfoyle’s lavish lifestyle, detailing high-flying luxury travel, parties with Greek billionaires and pop stars, private photographer, champagne demands, an unpaid dining bill, home additions and close ties to energy lobbyist Christos Marafatsos.
Text messages obtained by the Wall Street Journal also show that Guilfoyle pressed Trump donor Eric Deters to pay her $100,000 American Express bill prior to her confirmation as ambassador.
The official IG probe was launched after internal complaints within the US Embassy escalated to a breaking point, sources in Greece tell the Daily Mail.
‘You receive enough complaints and you open up an investigation. That is the way this works,’ an insider familiar with the complaints explained. ‘Hopefully this shakes her.’
Guilfoyle’s lawyer Jesse Binnall declined to comment on the probe when asked prior, telling the Daily Mail that the ambassador won’t comment on ‘internal matters’ as a ‘standard policy.’
‘Any implication of wrongdoing by the Ambassador is unsupported,’ he added and referred the Daily Mail to the State Department OIG.
Binnall also added that he is ‘not a spokesperson for Ms. Guilfoyle.’
Five sources have confirmed to the Daily Mail that a formal Department of State Inspector General probe has been opened into Guilfoyle, 57, and her US embassy in Athens, following complaints
Guilfoyle seen wrapping her arms around Marco Rubio on the tarmac on Tuesday, alongside Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis and Greek Ambassador Antonis Alexandridis
Inside the Athens mission, insiders report a ‘toxic workplace’ climate.
‘When you are a political appointee like she is, you have to do your very best to perform inside the system walls and she is doing the complete opposite of that,’ one source familiar with the investigation and her behavior told the Daily Mail.
Greek sources allege Guilfoyle, who has workplace outbursts according to sources, has threatened subordinates with immediate termination.
On several occasions, Guilfoyle reportedly snarled a now-famous threat to embassy workers: ‘F****** get it done or you’re f****** fired!’
Multiple sources with firsthand knowledge detail one incident that recently took place in Mykonos over the summer.
‘Guilfoyle was drinking at four in the morning, she called her security detail, Vasili, a grandfather, who was sleeping obviously, and did not respond. Next day, she demoted him.’
Her alleged early morning request? To fetch more ice cubes.
Once the agent in charge, the guard was then relegated to working in a ‘follow-car.’
Ambassador Guilfoyle attends the opening Session of the US-Greece Strategic Dialogue at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Athens Wednesday
She now lives in Jefferson House, the ambassador’s villa located in the exclusive Kolonaki neighborhood of Athens
Two other drivers, by the name of Petros and Dimitris, were also reportedly demoted because Guilfoyle didn’t like the way they ‘made a left turn’ and are no longer able to drive for her, two sources confirmed.
Diplomats familiar with the embassy say drivers are trained in the United States and are paid for by the US embassy at taxpayer expense.
Sources additionally detail meetings at the embassy with the Hellenic Police Department and all 16 members of her security detail that followed due to ‘staff turnover’, and ‘verbal abuse’ they claim they experienced from the ambassador.
The dismissals didn’t end there: over the winter, two sources close to Guilfoyle say she dismissed her ethics manager, Ann-Marie Everitt, following a dispute over who funded the renovations to the ambassador’s home.
The Ambassador reportedly renovated the Jefferson house, including the entire upstairs and brand-new bathrooms, with private money raised from affluent Greeks.
Everitt did not immediately respond to a response for comment.
Senior Congressional Democrats are also raising alarms over Guilfoyle’s conduct, warning she may be unfit for office and calling for her immediate removal if ethical allegations are confirmed.
In urgent demands to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, lawmakers are pressing the State Department to investigate whether Guilfoyle abused her official authority by pushing energy deals tied to corporate clients, granting Marafatsos, a registered lobbyist, access to high-level diplomatic meetings and accepting luxury travel on private aircrafts.
The exterior of the residence in Athens, Greece, where the US Ambassador resides
Since touching down in the Mediterranean on a private jet, President Donald Trump’s ex-daughter-in-law has brought her signature extravagant lifestyle to Athens
Guilfoyle parties in Mykonos
Leaders are demanding meeting logs, personal financial disclosures and proof of flight authorizations. No response from Guilfoyle has been sent publicly yet.
Despite the growing calls from lawmakers demanding a full probe into her conduct, Guilfoyle was fourth in line at the Athens International Airport late Tuesday night to welcome Secretary Rubio.
She put on an extraordinarily warm display, wrapping her arms around Rubio in an embrace on the tarmac alongside Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis and Greek Ambassador Antonis Alexandridis.
The airport greeting comes as Rubio arrives for the sixth round of the US-Greece Strategic Dialogue, aimed at deepening cooperation in defense, energy and regional security between the two key allies.
Prior to touching down, Rubio described Greece as a ‘very important ally’ of the United States. He is meeting with Foreign Minister Gerapetritis at the Foreign Ministry today for intensive bilateral negotiations.
Guilfoyle, largely sidelined from press conferences, was not present to take questions on the investigations.
But when Rubio was asked about the reporting on her activities in Greece during a press conference today, he brushed off the question, saying: ‘This is not the forum where we’re going to address this.’
As Rubio takes on talks on energy corridors and the F-35 fighter jet program this week, it remains to be seen if Guilfoyle can weather the findings of these extensive probes.
Christos Marafatsos and Kimberly Guilfoyle. Source: Christos Marafatsos/Facebook
Embassy staff and foreign diplomats tread carefully around Guilfoyle, who makes no secret of her direct line to the Oval Office, sources said
Guilfoyle, largely sidelined from press conferences, was not present to take questions on the investigations this week in Greece
‘The question now is, how long can she hang on? At what point will the President look at this and decide, this simply can’t go on,’ a person close to Trump lamented.
The State Department did not respond to a request for comment.
The State Department OIG tells the Daily Mail they cannot ‘confirm, deny, or comment on investigative matters.’
President Trump nominated Kimberly Guilfoyle as Ambassador to Greece in December 2024 – just days after Don Jr. was spotted out with Palm Beach socialite Bettina Anderson, whom he has since married.
Following her Senate confirmation last September, insiders urged Guilfoyle to be on good behavior, cautioning that an assignment amid Aegean islands and endless summers wasn’t a green light for nonstop partying.
Nevertheless, she jetted into Athens on a billionaire’s private jet and set up several large welcome parties for herself headlined by a famous Greek pop-star, using the State Department email for RSVPs.
By July, Guilfoyle was spotted sipping bubbly and nibbling grapes at Nammos – the ultra-exclusive jet-set club on Mykonos’s Psarou Beach. The very next day, she jetted off to Paris for Fashion Week.
That same month, Trump bypassed Greece entirely on his return flight from the NATO summit in Turkey, leaving Guilfoyle’s promises of a presidential visit unfulfilled.
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