Donald Trump Jr.’s former fiancée has a mystery shadow.
In her capacity as U.S. Ambassador to Greece, Kimberly Guilfoyle has been working on securing deals with European countries to buy American liquid natural gas—and ultimately wean themselves off of Russian energy.
The 57-year-old has been crisscrossing the continent, buttering up politicians to buy billions of dollars of U.S. product.
A constant figure by her side has been the 39-year-old businessman Christos Marafatsos, according to the Wall Street Journal.
His presence at high-profile meetings has been so frequent that some foreign officials have reportedly assumed he was part of Guilfoyle’s staff.
Instead, the 39-year-old is a lobbyist for Aktor, a Greek infrastructure and energy group, which recently signed a $6 billion agreement to supply U.S. LNG to Albania, despite being a newcomer in the business.
It is the same company Guilfoyle has repeatedly promoted, according to the Journal.
In Bulgaria, she told the government that it should deal with Aktor.
A person familiar with the talks reportedly said: “There is no doubt that this is kind of an official position of the U.S. government.”
Government officials who have met with Marafatsos and the ambassador said he made no mention of his ties to Aktor.
Robin Brooks, a foreign service officer who served as National Security Council director for the Balkans and Central Europe under Biden, said that such a promotion was “absolutely problematic”.
Bringing a registered lobbyist into meetings with foreign officials “calls into question whether the meeting is advancing American interests or advancing some sort of private interest,” she warned.
A U.S. Embassy official insisted that Guilfoyle was in “full compliance with State Department guidance” during her trip to Bulgaria, despite claims of lobbying.
When the deal with Albania was confirmed in April, the ambassador said: “I was honored to travel to Tirana to advance POTUS’ energy agenda and join PM Edi Rama to take part in the signing of a historic deal between Albania, Venture Global, and Aktor LNG USA on a 20-year U.S. LNG agreement.
It is part of a “vertical gas corridor” to supply Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe with abundant natural gas from sources diversified from Russia.
President Donald Trump nominated Guilfoyle, a former Fox host and a one-time lawyer, as the U.S. Ambassador to Greece in December 2024.
At the time, he described her as a “close friend and ally,” adding that she is “perfectly suited to foster strong bilateral relations with Greece, advancing our interests on issues ranging from defense cooperation to trade and economic innovation.”
