WSJ: Audio has Ambassador Guilfoyle seeking seat at Eric Trump dinner in Davos

Left · 2The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday 10 October on an audio recording in which Kimberly Guilfoyle, the US ambassador to Greece, tries to get a seat at a dinner for Eric Trump at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January. 1 2 Left · 1Greek House Davos, which organised the dinner, had left her off the guest list, and she leaned on an American businessman with an invitation to help get her in. 1 Left · 2On the recording she tells him, "I can deliver the world to you. Which you deserve," and "I'm going to make you a lot of f— money." 1 2

Left · 2Of the dinner's organiser she says: "You don't have the f— U.S., you know, ambassador to Greece not come. She should be kissing my f— ass." The Independent says she "appears to have said" this. 1 2 Left · 2She also said wealthy Greek businessmen were covering her travel. She acknowledged flying to Davos on a private jet with Alexandros Exarchou, who runs the Greek construction firm Aktor Group, and name-dropped shipping magnate Nikolas Tsakos. 1 2 Left · 1People familiar with the matter told the Journal that Tsakos, chief executive of Tsakos Energy Navigation, paid her bill at the Four Seasons Hotel George V in Paris; he did not respond to requests for comment. The Journal has previously reported that she urged governments from Bulgaria to Albania to buy American natural gas through Exarchou's company. 1

Left · 2Guilfoyle got a seat at the last minute. Irene Vantaraki, chair of Greek House Davos, told the Journal she was "gracious and discreet" and left early; the Independent also quotes Vantaraki saying organisers had to manage "a small crisis" that affected high-profile guests, and that "some were disappointed". 1 2 Left · 1A spokesman for the US Embassy in Athens said Guilfoyle "faithfully followed State Department ethics and gift reporting guidelines" and called the allegations "unsubstantiated". 1 Left · 1The Independent adds that the report came days after the Journal reported on Wednesday that she pressed donor Eric Deters for $100,000 to pay an American Express bill, offering help with his tax and legal issues; a lawyer for Guilfoyle disputed the authenticity of those messages. 2

Left · 1President Trump, asked on Friday, said: "I just heard about it. It's too bad... She's an ambassador….She was always very nice." The Independent also reports that the State Department Office of the Inspector General is investigating whether she received gifts or favours from private businessmen. 2