AP source: Trump, Rubio weigh firing U.S. envoy to Greece after mounting reports of improper conduct

Senior official says president and US secretary of state are ‘extremely pissed off’ by conduct of US envoy to GreeceDonald Trump and Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, are considering firing US ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle after a series of reports alleging she has engaged in improper and possibly illegal conduct before and during her tenure in Athens.A senior US official said Sunday that Trump and Rubio are “extremely pissed off” by Guilfoyle’s reported conduct and would likely decide on what action to take this week after Monday’s federal holiday. WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are considering firing U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle after a series of reports alleging she has engaged in improper and possibly illegal conduct before and during her tenure in Athens.

official said Sunday that Trump and Rubio are “extremely pissed off” by Guilfoyle’s reported conduct and would likely decide on what action to take this week after Monday’s Columbus Day holiday. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, said Rubio had been particularly angry, not least because he visited Athens just last week and Guilfoyle attended most, if not all, of his events and greeted him on his arrival with a bear hug as the allegations swirled. In a series of stories, The Wall Street Journal has reported questionable conduct by Guilfoyle, including an alleged threat to a host country official, accepting improper gifts and services and offering to use her influence inside the administration in return for the payment of a large credit card bill.

Guilfoyle has not addressed the reports directly, although her lawyer has said she did nothing wrong and the U.S. embassy in Athens has tacitly expressed support for her. After defending Guilfoyle following the first report, Rubio has declined to comment publicly on the growing allegations.

On Wednesday, Rubio said: “Our ambassador has been a strong ambassador here.” But after another report appeared late Wednesday, Rubio on Thursday before leaving Athens berated journalists for asking about the allegations saying he didn’t know if they were true and that he would not respond if he could not confirm. “You guys walk around thinking that because some source told you something and you reported it, it’s the gospel. That’s not the way we do things,” Rubio said at the foot of his plane as Guilfoyle, who was there to see him depart, looked on.

The official said that Rubio had grown increasingly frustrated as the reports multiplied. A second U.S official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters, said the State Department’s inspector general is looking into the allegations, which first began surfacing in the Journal late last month and have since multiplied. The second official could not say if a formal IG probe h…

embassy in Athens has tacitly expressed support for her.After defending Guilfoyle following the first report, Rubio has declined to comment publicly on the growing allegations.