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Kentucky-based Trump donor and former attorney Eric Deters announced on October 15, 2026, that he has filed a defamation lawsuit in Kentucky state court against former U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle and members of her legal team. The suit centers on statements made in response to a Wall Street Journal report about communications between Deters and Guilfoyle ahead of her 2025 confirmation hearing.
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The underlying dispute began with reporting last week that Guilfoyle, then the U.S. ambassador to Greece and former fiancée of Donald Trump Jr., asked Deters via Signal messaging to wire $100,000 to pay an American Express bill without creating a paper trail. According to messages Deters provided to the Journal and other outlets, this occurred in early July 2025, days before her Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing. Deters has described the request as a quid pro quo for assistance with Trump administration access related to his personal and business matters, including efforts involving a medical case. He says he did not make the payment. Guilfoyle’s attorneys have disputed the authenticity of the messages and stated that Deters owed roughly $150,000 for prior speaking and consulting work at events he organized, characterizing the situation as an unpaid balance rather than improper solicitation. They have also referred to Deters in statements as a “known blackmailer,” which he denies.
Guilfoyle resigned from her ambassadorship earlier this week after the White House requested that she step down amid the allegations, which she has called false. She has said she intends to vigorously defend her reputation.
In a video announcement accompanying the lawsuit filing, Deters stated that Guilfoyle and her lawyers (including attorney Jesse Binnall) claimed his allegations were false and that they would defend them vigorously. “Now they can in Kentucky,” he said. The lawsuit seeks relief including an apology, admissions regarding the texts and related claims, and $1 million, according to reports citing the filing. Deters has indicated that discovery could involve depositions of Guilfoyle and others, such as Donald Trump Jr., as well as subpoenas for Trump administration records.
He has also claimed to possess a roughly 16-minute phone recording involving events or communications connected to Greece that he describes as highly damaging. Deters has said he plans to release it imminently and warned that the information “might just bring down the entire Trump administration” and could affect prospects for a potential JD Vance–Marco Rubio ticket. These are his characterizations; no recording has been publicly released as of the announcement, and the statements remain unproven claims in an ongoing personal legal dispute.
Deters, who has paid substantial speaking fees over the years to Guilfoyle (he has cited $300,000) and Trump family members for appearances at his Freedom Fest events, has been a vocal MAGA supporter but has expressed frustration with the administration’s handling of certain issues he has raised. He is a controversial figure in Kentucky politics with a history of legal and professional issues, including prior disciplinary matters as an attorney and dismissed lawsuits.
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