Kimberly Guilfoyle is facing a defamation lawsuit from the Trump donor whose allegations helped fuel the controversy that preceded her resignation as U.S. ambassador to Greece earlier this week.
Eric Deters filed suit against Guilfoyle and attorneys Jesse Binnall and David M. Schwartz in Kentucky's Kenton Circuit Court on Thursday, accusing them of defamation and false-light invasion of privacy. The lawsuit also includes a breach-of-contract claim against Guilfoyle.
Deters is seeking compensatory and punitive damages and has requested a jury trial.
The filing marks the latest escalation in an extraordinary public feud between Guilfoyle and Deters, a longtime supporter of President Donald Trump who says he previously paid Guilfoyle roughly $300,000 for appearances at his conservative Freedom Fest events.
It comes just two days after the White House announced that Guilfoyle had been asked to resign from her diplomatic post following reports about her dealings with Deters. Guilfoyle has denied wrongdoing and said after her resignation that she would vigorously defend her name and reputation.
Newsweek has reached out to the White House for comment. Guilfoyle's attorneys have also been contacted for comment.
Donor Sues Guilfoyle
The lawsuit stems in part from statements that Deters says Guilfoyle and her attorneys made after The Wall Street Journal contacted them while reporting allegations he had raised about the ambassador.
According to the lawsuit, Deters says the Journal's Dana Mattioli told him Guilfoyle and her legal team characterized text exchanges he provided as false and described him as a "known blackmailer."
Deters denies those assertions and says the messages are authentic. He also disputes a claim that he owed Guilfoyle money.
"The texts are not fake. I have never been accused of or charged with blackmail," Deters wrote in the lawsuit.
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Guilfoyle has denied allegations that she sought an improper payment from Deters. Her attorneys previously told Newsweek they had not seen the texts in their original form and therefore could not authenticate them.
The lawsuit follows Deters's allegation that Guilfoyle asked him in July 2025, shortly before her Senate confirmation hearing, to pay $100,000 toward her American Express account.
Deters characterized the alleged request as part of a "pay-to-play" arrangement connected with assistance he sought from Guilfoyle concerning fugitive former surgeon Atiq Durrani. Guilfoyle's attorneys have disputed that characterization and said money sought from Deters represented an unpaid balance for legitimate work performed before her nomination.
Deters also alleges in Thursday's lawsuit that Guilfoyle breached an agreement related to efforts to help Durrani's former patients.
Deters Threatens To Release Recording
Hours after filing the suit, Deters intensified the dispute further, posting a video to Facebook in which he held up what he said was a copy of the lawsuit and promised to release a 16-minute phone recording.
Deters claimed the recording contains damaging information about Guilfoyle and said he planned to make it public by the end of Friday.
"By the end of tomorrow, I am going to play for you a phone recording that is the most explosive, most devastating information about Kimberly Guilfoyle to date," Deters said.
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He went significantly further, making sweeping claims about what the recording could mean for the administration he has long supported.
"This might just bring down the entire Trump administration," Deters said, adding that it "may end the JD Vance/Marco Rubio ticket."
Deters did not publicly substantiate those claims in the comments reported Thursday, and the contents of the recording he described had not been made public.
The threat nevertheless adds another element to a controversy that has rapidly escalated from allegations over private communications into Guilfoyle's departure from government and now a court fight.
Guilfoyle's Turbulent Week
The dispute gained national attention after The Wall Street Journal reported on October 8 about messages supplied by Deters.
Deters alleged that Guilfoyle asked him for the $100,000 payment while discussing her ability to help with issues he wanted raised with senior Trump administration officials. He has said he refused to make the payment.
The allegations followed scrutiny of Guilfoyle's conduct as ambassador, including reported questions surrounding privately funded travel and her promotion of business interests.
Trump said Monday that his administration was examining the matter and was "not happy."
On Tuesday, White House press secretary Katie Zacharia announced that Guilfoyle had been asked to step down.
"We have asked Ambassador Guilfoyle to resign," Zacharia said. "She has been a wonderful asset to the team, and we wish her well."
Trump later told reporters that Guilfoyle had been doing a good job but that "we didn't like what we were reading."
Guilfoyle subsequently announced her resignation, calling her time representing the United States in Greece "the honor of a lifetime."
She rejected the accusations against her.
"These allegations are false, and I intend to vigorously defend my name, my reputation, and my integrity," Guilfoyle said, adding that she would "not allow false accusations to define my decades of public service."
Now, two days after being pushed out of her ambassadorial role, the controversy surrounding Guilfoyle has moved into court.
Newsweek’s reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to produce this story. Learn more about Martyn here.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Samantha Beech and Gray R. Thomas