Kimberly Guilfoyle is facing new scrutiny over her diplomatic work in Europe after a report raised questions about the unusually prominent role of a private lobbyist who has repeatedly appeared alongside the U.S. ambassador during high-level meetings.
Guilfoyle, 57, the former Fox News personality and former fiancée of Donald Trump Jr., has become a key figure in the Trump administration’s effort to sell more American liquefied natural gas to European countries and reduce the region’s reliance on Russian energy.
But a Wall Street Journal investigation published Friday focused attention on Christos Marafatsos, a 39-year-old businessman and registered lobbyist who has frequently accompanied Guilfoyle during meetings with government officials across Southeastern Europe.
Marafatsos is not a member of the ambassador’s official staff.
Instead, he has worked as a lobbyist for Aktor Group, a major Greek construction and infrastructure company that has moved aggressively into the LNG business.
According to the Journal, Marafatsos has appeared alongside Guilfoyle so often that some foreign officials reportedly believed he worked for the U.S. government or served as a senior member of her staff.
That distinction has become important because Guilfoyle has also publicly supported energy projects involving Aktor as Washington seeks to expand American LNG exports throughout the Balkans.
Questions Raised Over Private Lobbyist
The Journal reported that Marafatsos joined Guilfoyle during meetings with senior foreign officials, including discussions in Bulgaria.
Several people who attended meetings with the pair told the newspaper that Marafatsos did not disclose his relationship with Aktor.
The report also said Guilfoyle encouraged Bulgarian officials to work with the Greek company as part of efforts to move U.S. natural gas through Southeastern Europe.
One person familiar with the discussions told the Journal that Guilfoyle’s advocacy left the impression that working with Aktor was effectively the position of the U.S. government.
That has prompted questions from former diplomatic officials about whether the presence of a private-sector lobbyist could blur the line between U.S. foreign policy and commercial interests.
Robin Brooks, a former foreign service officer who worked on Balkan and Central European affairs at the National Security Council during the Biden administration, told the Journal that bringing a registered lobbyist into meetings with foreign officials could create questions about whose interests were being advanced.
However, there has been no public finding that Guilfoyle violated federal law or State Department rules.
Embassy Defends Guilfoyle
The U.S. Embassy has pushed back against suggestions that Guilfoyle improperly promoted Aktor.
An embassy official told the Journal that Guilfoyle’s travel and diplomatic activity were conducted in “full compliance with State Department guidance.”
Her attorney, Jesse Binnall, also disputed the suggestion that the ambassador improperly favored one company, saying Guilfoyle has worked with multiple businesses involved in the energy sector.
Aktor has similarly denied wrongdoing.
The company has said its involvement with efforts to move American LNG through the region began before its relationship with Guilfoyle and that its business strategy aligns with Washington’s goal of reducing Europe’s reliance on Russian natural gas.
$6 Billion Albania Agreement
The scrutiny comes amid a huge expansion of U.S. energy activity in the Balkans.
In April, Albania’s state-owned gas company ALBGAZ signed a 20-year agreement with Aktor LNG USA involving American liquefied natural gas.
The agreement calls for the delivery of approximately 1 billion cubic meters of LNG annually beginning in 2030, according to Aktor.
Reuters reported at the time that the agreement was valued at approximately $6 billion and involved U.S. LNG producer Venture Global.
Guilfoyle traveled to Tirana for the April signing ceremony and openly celebrated the agreement.
She said the deal advanced President Trump’s energy agenda and would strengthen both energy security and national security throughout the region.
The ambassador described it as a major example of cooperation among the United States, Albania and Greece.
The Journal, however, reported additional details about Guilfoyle’s involvement before that public ceremony.
According to the newspaper, Guilfoyle traveled to Albania in March with Marafatsos and Aktor chief executive Alexandros Exarchou and met with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama.
The newspaper reported that Guilfoyle traveled without members of her embassy staff on that trip.
Those circumstances are among the issues now drawing scrutiny.
A Bigger U.S. Energy Strategy
The Albania agreement is only one piece of a much larger effort to reshape energy supplies across Southeastern and Central Europe.
Washington has backed what is known as the Vertical Gas Corridor, a network designed to bring LNG into Greece and move natural gas north through countries including Bulgaria and Romania.
The strategic objective is straightforward: give European countries additional sources of natural gas while reducing their dependence on Russian supplies.
That broader policy is not unique to Aktor.
Reuters reported in April that the United States was supporting several major energy projects in the Balkans, including a separate proposed pipeline linking Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Aktor, meanwhile, has become an increasingly important participant.
The company’s Atlantic-SEE LNG joint venture with Greece’s DEPA Commercial also expanded a long-term agreement with Venture Global in June.
Under that arrangement, Atlantic-SEE plans to purchase at least 1 million metric tons of U.S. LNG annually for 20 years beginning in 2030, double the volume originally agreed upon.
From Fox News to Athens
President Trump first announced Guilfoyle as his choice for ambassador to Greece in December 2024.
The president described her at the time as a longtime “close friend and ally” and said her background in law, media and politics made her well suited to strengthen relations between Washington and Athens.
Before entering diplomacy, Guilfoyle worked as a prosecutor and later spent years at Fox News, where she became one of the network’s best-known personalities. She subsequently became heavily involved in Trump’s political operation and fundraising efforts.
She was also engaged for several years to Donald Trump Jr.
Guilfoyle ultimately took up the diplomatic post and is currently identified by the State Department as the U.S. ambassador to Greece.
What Happens Next
For now, the controversy centers on transparency and the overlap between diplomacy and private business rather than any established finding of misconduct.
The Journal’s reporting raises questions about why a lobbyist representing a company pursuing lucrative energy contracts was present for diplomatic meetings and whether officials understood whom he represented.
Guilfoyle, the Embassy and Aktor maintain that the ambassador’s work has served U.S. policy goals and complied with applicable rules.
With billions of dollars in potential energy business moving through the region, however, the relationship between government diplomacy and the companies positioned to profit from those deals is likely to remain under scrutiny.
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