Trump, Rubio Weigh Firing Greece Envoy 10/12 06:33

   

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio 
are considering firing U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle after a 
series of reports alleging she has engaged in improper and possibly illegal 
conduct before and during her tenure in Athens.

   A senior U.S. official said Sunday that Trump and Rubio are "extremely 
pissed off" by Guilfoyle's reported conduct and would likely decide on what 
action to take this week after Monday's Columbus Day holiday.

   The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal 
deliberations, said Rubio had been particularly angry, not least because he 
visited Athens just last week and Guilfoyle attended most, if not all, of his 
events and greeted him on his arrival with a bear hug as the allegations 
swirled.

   In a series of stories, The Wall Street Journal has reported questionable 
conduct by Guilfoyle, including an alleged threat to a host country official, 
accepting improper gifts and services and offering to use her influence inside 
the administration in return for the payment of a large credit card bill.

   Guilfoyle has not addressed the reports directly, but in a statement 
released late Sunday, her lawyers denied she had done anything wrong and 
claimed that the money she was seeking from the Trump donor was payment for 
services -- public appearances and speaking engagements that predate her 
ambassadorial nomination -- that had not been paid.

   The lawyers, David Schwartz and Jesse Binnall, also rejected allegations of 
impropriety related to Guilfoyle's travel on private planes, saying that before 
every such trip she "sought, obtained and followed State Department guidance 
and followed the Department's travel regulations," they said.

   "Ambassador Guilfoyle has served, and will continue to serve, with 
integrity, honor and distinction. We are evaluating all available legal 
remedies to collect this debt and any other potential causes of action," the 
lawyers said.

   After defending Guilfoyle following the first report, Rubio has declined to 
comment publicly on the growing allegations. On Wednesday, Rubio said: "Our 
ambassador has been a strong ambassador here."

   But after another report appeared late Wednesday, Rubio on Thursday before 
leaving Athens berated journalists for asking about the allegations, saying he 
didn't know if they were true and that he would not respond if he could not 
confirm them.

   "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 at the foot of his plane 
as Guilfoyle, who was there to see him depart, looked on.

   The official said that Rubio had grown increasingly frustrated as the 
reports multiplied.

   A second U.S. official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss 
personnel matters, said the State Department's inspector general is looking 
into the allegations, which first began surfacing in the Journal late last 
month and have since multiplied.

   The second official could not say if a formal IG probe had begun. Inspectors 
general often conduct informal inquiries into complaints against staffers and 
many times those inquiries do not result in a full-on investigation, which can 
result in disciplinary action up to and including dismissal.

   The State Department has declined to comment on a potential IG investigation.

   The top two Democrats on the House Foreign Affairs and Senate Foreign 
Relations committees, Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of 
New Hampshire, as well as the ranking member on the House Committee for 
Oversight and Government Reform, Robert Garcia, D-Calif., have already called 
for an investigation into Guilfoyle.

   Since late September, the Journal has detailed numerous accounts of 
questionable conduct by Guilfoyle. Its first report said that she had told 
guests at a reception that the U.S. could undermine the Greek government if it 
chose to, promoted the business interests of one particular Greek construction 
and energy company, and allowed its lobbyist into private diplomatic meetings.

   While Rubio was in Athens, the Journal reported -- citing text messages -- 
that Guilfoyle had asked a Trump donor and supporter to pay a $100,000 credit 
card bill just before her confirmation hearing, promising him access to 
administration officials if he did.

   The Journal then reported that Guilfoyle had been enraged about not being 
invited to a Greek-themed event at the World Economic Forum in Davos, 
Switzerland, earlier this year and demanded to attend while boasting about 
luxury travel to France with energy company executives.

   Another report, from the British tabloid The Daily Mail, said that Guilfoyle 
had alienated staff at the U.S. Embassy in Athens and had pushed the bounds of 
behavior appropriate for the top representative of the U.S. government to 
Greece.

   Guilfoyle is a former Fox News Channel host and California prosecutor who 
was once engaged to Trump's son Donald Jr.