‘I Don’t Love That’: JD Vance Questioned About Guilfoyle’s Reported $100K Request to Donor
Vice President JD Vance claimed ignorance about widespread reports that Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle allegedly begged a Trump donor to give her $100,000 to pay off her AmEx card.
The allegations were first reported by The Wall Street Journal on Thursday, and the report was subsequently picked up by major national news outlets.
At a press conference Thursday, a reporter asked, “Do you have any reaction to a U.S. government official asking someone to pay off debt and exchange to get access to other government officials?”
“Well, so, with that hypothetical…obviously I don’t love that,” Vance said. “But I, you know, I don’t know exactly who you’re talking about. I don’t know the full details. What I find with these stories is you never want to comment in a purely abstract way because a lot of times the details really matter. And the details and the context inform the reality of the situation.”
Vance continued:
So, of course, I don’t like anybody selling access to another government official. Certainly a high-level government official. 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. No insult to you, by the way. But context really matters on this stuff. So, I’d like to get the full story before offering a real opinion. A good lesson for a politician is never speak about something you don’t have the full facts on, and I just don’t have the full facts on that one.
The Journal reported that Guilfoyle begged for the money from Trump donor Eric Deters, shortly before her Senate confirmation hearing, during which background checks routinely look into a nominee’s debts. Deters was seeking Guilfoyle’s help on tax and legal issues at the time, but told the journal, “she never came through on anything.”
“It won’t show up anywhere if you wire money to American Express. Please,” Guilfoyle allegedly wrote to Deters on Signal chats reviewed by The Journal. “I will be your Trump ride or die, forever and ever,’” she promised him.
Deters ultimately declined to pay the bill.
Guilfoyle’s attorney questioned the authenticity of the Signal messages.
Watch the clip above via C-SPAN.
The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
The single summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting from both sides of the aisle. Subscribe now!
Comments
↓ Scroll down for comments ↓