Kimberly Guilfoyle was sent to Greece to represent the United States.
Now members of Congress want to know whether America's ambassador has been using that position to advance the interests of a private company — while allowing that company's paid lobbyist extraordinary access to official diplomatic meetings.
A Wall Street Journal investigation into Guilfoyle's activities in southeastern Europe has triggered calls for a formal investigation into her relationship with Greek construction and energy company Aktor Group and its American lobbyist, Christos Marafatsos.
The allegations involve private-jet travel, high-level meetings, billions of dollars in potential energy deals and a lobbyist who became such a regular presence alongside the American ambassador that some foreign officials reportedly believed he worked for the United States government.
He doesn't.
He works for Aktor.
The Lobbyist Who Looked Like an American Official
According to the Journal, Marafatsos has repeatedly accompanied Guilfoyle during meetings with senior foreign officials as she promotes American liquefied natural gas throughout southeastern Europe.
His presence became so routine that some foreign officials reportedly mistook him for Guilfoyle's chief of staff.
In reality, Marafatsos is a registered lobbyist for Aktor Group.
Federal lobbying records cited by the Journal show that Aktor paid him $160,000 through June 2026 to establish connections with the State Department, Energy Department and Executive Office of the President.
Several people who participated in meetings with Guilfoyle and Marafatsos told the Journal that he didn't disclose his relationship with Aktor.
That's particularly significant because Guilfoyle was simultaneously promoting energy arrangements involving the very company paying him.
An Ambassador Promoting One Particular Company
The Trump administration has made increasing American LNG exports to Europe an important part of its energy and foreign policy.
There is nothing inherently unusual about an American ambassador promoting American energy.
The controversy is over something much more specific.
According to the Journal, Guilfoyle repeatedly encouraged foreign governments to work with Aktor Group, a Greek construction company that has expanded into the natural-gas business.
During discussions with Bulgaria, Guilfoyle reportedly pushed an arrangement involving Aktor and a Greek state-backed energy company.
And sitting beside her during a meeting with Bulgaria's president was Marafatsos — Aktor's lobbyist.
The Journal also reported that Aktor CEO Alexandros Exarchou provided Guilfoyle transportation aboard a private jet.
The company and Guilfoyle deny improper conduct.
But the combination has now attracted the attention of Congress.
Congress Wants Answers
On October 1, Rep. Gregory Meeks, the ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, formally requested information from Secretary of State Marco Rubio concerning Guilfoyle's conduct.
Meeks cited reports that Guilfoyle promoted Aktor's commercial interests during official diplomatic engagements while repeatedly allowing the company's registered lobbyist to participate in meetings with senior government officials.
He is seeking information about Guilfoyle's contacts with Marafatsos, her financial interests, the State Department's knowledge of the arrangement and her travel aboard private aircraft.
Meeks said that if the allegations are substantiated, Guilfoyle should be removed from her position.
The scrutiny has also reached the Senate, where lawmakers are seeking answers from the State Department about the ambassador's conduct.
“We Can Do That to Any Country We Want”
The business questions aren't the only controversy surrounding Guilfoyle.
The Journal also reported an extraordinary exchange during a March dinner in Athens attended by Greek and American officials.
While discussing political turmoil in Romania and the impending collapse of its government, Guilfoyle allegedly said:
“We can do that to any country we want. We can do that here.”
The comment was interpreted by some present as suggesting that the United States could help bring down Greece's democratically elected government.
Guilfoyle's attorney disputes the characterization of the exchange.
Greek Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou, who attended the dinner, has also rejected the suggestion that Greece was threatened by the United States, telling the Greek Parliament that there had been no pressure or threat against his country.
The allegation nevertheless caused political controversy in both Greece and Romania and added another question to an already unusual diplomatic arrangement.
Diplomacy or Private Business?
Guilfoyle's defenders argue that her work is advancing a legitimate American objective: replacing Russian energy in Europe with American natural gas.
That's an important distinction.
Promoting American LNG is not itself evidence of corruption or misconduct.
The problem raised by the Journal's investigation is why one particular private company appears to have received such extraordinary attention — and why that company's paid lobbyist was repeatedly allowed into the ambassador's diplomatic orbit.
Marafatsos wasn't merely attending receptions.
He reportedly participated in meetings with senior officials, traveled alongside Guilfoyle and served as a point of contact for people dealing with the ambassador.
Meanwhile, the company paying him was pursuing lucrative energy opportunities.
That is precisely the kind of overlap between public authority and private commercial interests that government ethics rules are supposed to keep at arm's length.
Another Blurred Line in Trump World
Guilfoyle isn't simply another career diplomat.
She was a longtime Trump political surrogate, a former Fox News personality and Donald Trump Jr.'s former fiancée before President Trump nominated her to become ambassador to Greece.
Now she occupies one of America's most important diplomatic posts in southeastern Europe.
And once again, the line separating government power from private relationships has become remarkably difficult to see.
A private lobbyist reportedly sits alongside America's ambassador in meetings with foreign leaders.
His client receives enthusiastic support from that ambassador.
The company's CEO provides private-jet transportation.
Billions of dollars in energy business potentially hang in the balance.
And members of Congress are now asking the State Department to explain exactly how all of this was allowed to happen.
None of that, by itself, establishes criminal wrongdoing by Guilfoyle, Marafatsos or Aktor.
But Americans shouldn't need a Wall Street Journal investigation to determine whether the person sitting beside their ambassador represents the United States — or represents a company trying to make money from the policies that ambassador is promoting.
That distinction should have been obvious from the beginning.