Guilfoyle's lawyers say Deters owes her about $150,000 for past work
Jesse BinnallAttorney for Kimberly Guilfoyle, in a written statement issued with co-counsel David M. Schwartz
In a written statement, Guilfoyle's attorneys Jesse Binnall and David M. Schwartz said Eric Deters owes her about $150,000 for speeches and consulting work done before her nomination. They said her request for payment was an attempt to collect that debt before she entered government, not corruption.
Responding to
Eric Deters owes Kimberly Guilfoyle about $150,000 for speeches and consulting work she performed before her nomination as ambassador, and her request for payment was an effort to collect that debt.
“Eric Deters owes Ambassador Kimberly Guilfoyle approximately $150,000 for speeches and consulting work she performed for him long before she was nominated to serve as Ambassador. Mr. Deters has gone on national television to recast a contractual dispute as wrongdoing ... That is what Mr. Deters now calls a “quid pro quo”: a delinquent client being asked to pay an overdue bill. ... When Ms. Guilfoyle was preparing to leave private life for public service, she did what any professional does and tried to close out her outstanding receivables. Asking a client to pay for work already done is not corruption. It is the opposite of corruption.”
Reporting
Reporting
Reporting
Where this statement fits
Eric Deters alleges Kimberly Guilfoyle offered administration access for $100,000; she denies it
Eric Deters, a Kentucky businessman and Trump donor, alleges that Kimberly Guilfoyle asked him in July 2025 to pay her $100,000 American Express bill while offering to help him reach senior Trump administration officials. The Wall Street Journal reported the allegation on October 7, 2026, citing messages Deters provided in which Guilfoyle asked him to wire the money. Deters says he did not pay and calls the exchange a quid pro quo. Guilfoyle's lawyers say Deters owed her about $150,000 for speeches and consulting work done before her nomination and that she was trying to collect it. Guilfoyle, who resigned as U.S. ambassador to Greece on October 13, 2026 at the White House's request, says the allegations are false.
Source and context
Reporting
About this source
To Vima report that reproduces in full the written statement released on October 12, 2026 by Kimberly Guilfoyle's attorneys, Jesse Binnall and David M. Schwartz. The statement says Eric Deters owes her about $150,000 for speeches and consulting work and also addresses reports about her travel.
Reporting
About this source
CNN report on the White House request that Guilfoyle resign. It covers her resignation post, her lawyers' statement to CNN, Deters's account, Trump's October 12 comment that the administration was considering her removal, and calls for investigation from House Democrats.
Reporting
About this source
The Wall Street Journal report that first published Eric Deters's allegation, based on hundreds of messages, emails and letters he provided. It quotes messages attributed to Kimberly Guilfoyle, gives Deters's account of their dealings, and includes the response of her lawyer, Jesse Binnall, who said she disputed the authenticity of the messages and was owed a balance for speaking at Deters's events.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Before the Journal published its report on October 7, Binnall told the paper that Guilfoyle disputed the authenticity of the messages, without giving specifics, and that she was owed a balance for speaking at Deters's events. The full statement followed Deters's television interviews about the allegation.
After the quotation
The statement says Deters signed a General Service Agreement on May 20, 2024 calling for a flat fee of $200,000 for Freedom Fest appearances, made partial payments afterward and never paid the rest. It says Deters offered Guilfoyle $1 million to promote his malpractice litigation and that she refused, and it says the lawyers were weighing legal action to collect the debt. The statement did not include the contract or the messages it cites.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The reference point is Eric Deters's allegation that Kimberly Guilfoyle, shortly before her July 2025 Senate confirmation hearing, asked him to pay her $100,000 American Express bill while offering to help him reach senior Trump administration officials. Challenged the characterization: the lawyers do not deny that Guilfoyle asked Deters for money; they dispute his description of the request as an exchange for access and describe it as an attempt to collect a debt for past work. The closest competing label is Denied; it loses because the statement recasts the request rather than saying it did not happen, even though it also calls Deters's statements false.
- Recorded on
- Published here
- People and groups discussed
- Eric Deters
More from this case
Read the full caseGuilfoyle calls the allegations against her false as she leaves her post
“I also want to address the recent allegations against me. These allegations are false, and I intend to vigorously defend my name, my reputation, and my integrity. I have dedicated my professional life to fighting for justice, standing up for what is right, and defending the values that make America exceptional. I will not allow false accusations to define my decades of public service.”Read statement
Trump says he did not like what he read about Guilfoyle
“She went to Greece. She was doing a good job, but we didn't like what we were reading. ... I didn't speak to her, no. But she will not be there. I didn't like what I read.”Read statement
Jeff Flake says he is floored by the messages attributed to Guilfoyle
“Well. it's not good. ... I just am floored that he'd have those kinds of messages telling somebody to not leave a paper trail when she's leaving a paper trail. So, this is just not good. ... Well, you just heard from the man who was supposed to have sent those invoices. So, yes, or she sent those invoices too, and he's claiming the opposite. So, I don't think that will go very far.”Read statement
Share or embed this statement
The embed keeps its attribution link to The Dispute Index. Credit the image to The Dispute Index and link to the statement page.
Cite this record
- Publisher
- The Dispute Index
- Title
- Guilfoyle's lawyers say Deters owes her about $150,000 for past work
- First published
- Last updated
- Permalink
- https://disputeindex.com/events/5713-in-a-written-statement-guilfoyle-s-attorneys-jesse
Last updated marks the most recent saved version of this published statement.
The Dispute Index. "Guilfoyle's lawyers say Deters owes her about $150,000 for past work". First published: 2026-10-14. Last updated: 2026-10-14. https://disputeindex.com/events/5713-in-a-written-statement-guilfoyle-s-attorneys-jesse