‘It’s not the gospel!’ Rubio unloads on reporters over Guilfoyle scandal — with the ambassador watching

BS BULLETIN:

Secretary of State Marco Rubio was confronted with explosive allegations against Ambassador Kimberly Guilfoyle while she stood nearby watching the exchange.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Guilfoyle allegedly asked a Trump donor to pay a $100,000 American Express bill in exchange for access to administration officials.
Rubio refused to accept the newspaper’s allegations at face value, delivering a sharp lecture on how government investigations actually work.

Marco Rubio was trying to leave Greece. The Washington press corps had other ideas.

And standing nearby, watching the whole thing unfold, was Kimberly Guilfoyle — the very person reporters wanted him to discuss. Talk about an awkward airport send-off.

The secretary of state was preparing to board his plane Thursday when reporters confronted him with a Wall Street Journal investigation alleging that Guilfoyle, America’s ambassador to Greece, had sought $100,000 from a Trump donor to cover an American Express bill.

The reported arrangement allegedly involved offering access to senior Trump administration officials. Serious allegations, certainly. But Rubio wasn’t about to conduct a State Department investigation between the boarding stairs and the aircraft door.

“Guys, I’m not playing this game with you, OK?” Rubio fired back.

He accused reporters of expecting an immediate official reaction simply because their colleagues had published a story: “You guys write a story and then your editors tell you, ‘make sure you get a comment from him’ on something we haven’t seen.”

“You guys are not going to be our only source of information in the world. I’m sorry to tell you that,” Rubio said.

One reporter pressed Rubio to explain how the process was supposed to work. That turned out to be an invitation for an extended lesson.

“We don’t conduct these things at a press conference on a tarmac in a foreign country because you wrote a story or somebody else wrote a story because some source gave it to you,” he responded. “It’s the gospel. It’s not the gospel. It’s not the gospel for me.”

Rubio’s point was straightforward: A newspaper report can raise serious questions, but it doesn’t automatically establish the facts or dictate when the government must respond.

Meanwhile, Guilfoyle was still standing there. The ambassador, a former Fox News personality and Donald Trump Jr.’s former fiancée, had come to see Rubio off. Instead, she got a front-row seat to reporters asking her boss about allegations involving her own conduct.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Guilfoyle sought the payment from Republican donor Eric Deters shortly before her Senate confirmation hearing in 2025. The newspaper said it reviewed messages suggesting she wanted the transaction handled without a paper trail.

Deters reportedly never made the payment. Guilfoyle’s attorney disputes the authenticity of the messages, and no finding of wrongdoing has been established.

The latest allegations follow earlier Journal reporting questioning Guilfoyle’s relationships with Greek business interests and the presence of a lobbyist at diplomatic meetings. Senior congressional Democrats have called for an investigation.

Rubio, however, wasn’t prepared to announce one on the spot. He had already praised Guilfoyle’s performance as ambassador during his visit, describing the embassy’s work favorably.

And he made clear that whatever questions the State Department might examine, the investigation wasn’t going to begin with a reporter demanding answers beside an airplane.

MY QUICK TAKE

Now, the allegations against Guilfoyle are serious. A $100,000 personal credit card bill and promises of access to powerful government officials are absolutely worth investigating.

But Rubio made a distinction that shouldn’t be controversial: A newspaper report is evidence to examine, not a verdict to announce. And he wasn’t going to let a reporter turn an airport departure into an impromptu disciplinary hearing.