Vance signals discomfort after report alleges Kimberly Guilfoyle tried to exchange access for funds

(CNN) — Vice President JD Vance said Thursday he took issue with anyone seeking financial gain in exchange for access to Trump administration officials after a report claimed Kimberly Guilfoyle, the US ambassador to Greece, sought funds and offered access to top administration officials ahead of her confirmation.

“Obviously I don’t love that,” Vance said when a reporter asked whether he had any reaction to a scenario where an American ambassador tried to exchange access for funds. The reporter did not name Guilfoyle specifically.

Eric Deters, a Trump donor and former congressional candidate, told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Thursday that Guilfoyle had asked him for $100,000 to pay off an American Express bill.

The Wall Street Journal first reported Deters’ allegations.

CNN has reached out to Guilfoyle. A lawyer for the ambassador told the Journal that Guilfoyle disputed the authenticity of the messages.

“So right before her Senate confirmation, she says to me, ‘I need $100,000 to pay off my American Express card, or I’m not going to become Greek ambassador,’” Deters said on “The Lead.” “I said, ‘Kimberly, you haven’t done anything that I’ve asked you to do.’”

“There was no question it was a quid pro quo,” Deters alleged. “She knew she was nominated. She tried to cover it up. She wanted to paper it by coming up with this idea that it was for past consulting fees.”

Vance, who said he was unsure of the specifics of the episode, reserved further comment during a press conference on visa fraud.

But the vice president said in general he was uncomfortable with access-for-pay schemes.

“Of course I don’t like anybody selling access to another government official, certainly a high-level government official,” he said.

“But you know, I assume you’re talking about a specific case, and I can’t say with confidence that the case you’re talking about is actually reflective of the way you’re describing it,” he added.

Deters told CNN that he had initially sought Guilfoyle’s help in drawing the attention of the new Trump administration on some personal tax and legal issues he was facing. “I said, ‘Kimberly, if you help me draw attention to this, when the case settles, I’ll give you a million bucks.’ And she said, ‘Fine,’” he recounted. “And she said that she’d start doing all these things for me.”

According to the Journal, Guilfoyle reached out to Deters for the $100,000 days ahead of her confirmation hearing, texting him “Honey please I need you to get this done for me today.” Deters didn’t make the payment, the newspaper reported.

Guilfoyle had been with Secretary of State Marco Rubio this week as he visited Greece and gave a major policy speech.

When asked about the Journal reporting earlier Thursday, Rubio refused to comment.

“You guys walk around thinking that because some source told you something and you reported it, it’s the gospel. It’s not the gospel. It’s not the gospel for me. That’s not the way we do things,” Rubio said before he boarded his plane to leave the country, with Guilfoyle looking on.

Guilfoyle was nominated to the role in Athens by President Donald Trump in December 2024, prior to him taking office.

She had been engaged to Donald Trump Jr. and is close to the Trump family.

Guilfoyle is a former co-host of Fox News’ “The Five” and was an assistant district attorney at the San Francisco and Los Angeles district attorneys’ offices before beginning her media career.

She abruptly left her position on Fox News in July 2018 and later served as the Trump campaign’s finance chair during his 2020 presidential bid. She later became a key witness to the events leading up to the US Capitol attack on January 6, 2021, and met with the House select committee investigating the insurrection in 2022. In addition to her role on Trump’s campaign, Guilfoyle also helped raise money for organizers leading up to the “Stop the Steal” rally on January 6.

CNN’s Piper Hudspeth Blackburn contributed to this report.

This story has been updated with additional details.

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