MAGA Donor Eric Deters Breaks His Silence on Kimberly Guilfoyle Scandal via FB Video: Here's What He Said

Eric Deters, the Kentucky Republican donor whose disclosures about Kimberly Guilfoyle have drawn national attention, has publicly explained why he released information about her. In two Facebook videos, he said his aim was to bring the litigation involving fugitive Ohio spine surgeon Dr Atiq Durrani and his former patients into the national spotlight.

In two Facebook videos posted on Tuesday, 13 October, Deters said he released the information about Guilfoyle because he was frustrated by what he described as her failure to help Durrani's former patients. He also welcomed the White House's reported request that Guilfoyle resign as US ambassador to Greece, although he acknowledged that he did not know whether she had formally resigned.

Deters Says the Leak Was About Dr Durrani

'I released the Kimberly Guilfoyle information. I released that. I did,' Deters said in the second video. He said he did so 'for the purpose of getting the national news media attention on the Dr Durrani litigation because her failure to help me in that was what's really pissed me off and it's worked.'

Deters said he believed people were now searching for Durrani's name online. 'My whole purpose was to help the Dr Durrani victims who deserve everything I can do to help them,' he said.

He also repeated a phrase he attributed to Guilfoyle: 'I'll be your ride or die in Trump world'. Deters said the remark 'cracked me up'. He described the national media attention as 'great' and said he had 'just got a phone call from Greece', without identifying the caller.

'She Needed to Go'

In the first video, Deters said he understood that the Trump administration had asked Guilfoyle to resign, but did not know whether she had done so. 'I don't know if she's resigned yet,' he said. 'If she doesn't resign, she's going to get fired.'

White House press secretary Katie Zacharia confirmed the request in comments reported by CNN. 'She has been a wonderful asset to the team and we wish her well,' she said.

Deters supported the move, calling it 'the right move' and saying it was 'gentle because they're not firing her'. He added: 'It's the right thing to do. It's the right thing for this country. She needed to go.'

He also claimed that Guilfoyle had treated other people as he believed she had treated him. 'There's no doubt in my mind what she did to me, she did to lots of other people,' he said. He did not provide evidence for that broader allegation in the videos.

Deters further suggested that his disclosures had been decisive, rather than other controversies involving Guilfoyle's time in Greece. 'I think what I revealed she could not withstand. And I don't regret doing it,' he said.

Guilfoyle Responds to Resignation Request

Guilfoyle addressed the possibility of leaving her post in a statement on X, writing that her time as ambassador 'may be coming to an end'. She added that her 'gratitude and respect for President Trump and Secretary Rubio remain unwavering'.

The dispute follows Deters' allegation that Guilfoyle asked him to wire $100,000 (about £75,495) to pay off her American Express card in the days before her Senate confirmation hearing. Deters says he did not send the money.

Guilfoyle's lawyers have disputed his account. In a statement to CNN, they said Deters owed her money for speeches and consulting work and described his statements as false.

The competing accounts have not been established as fact by the Facebook videos. Deters' statements document his allegations and his explanation for releasing the information; Guilfoyle's lawyers maintain that the dispute concerns unpaid fees.

The Surgeon Behind the Feud

Durrani, an Ohio spine surgeon who practised in the Cincinnati area, faced 46 federal charges, including allegations of insurance fraud and billing for unnecessary spinal surgery. He travelled to Pakistan after being ordered to surrender his passport, according to Becker's Spine Review. The case has also been associated with litigation involving hundreds of former patients.

Deters said the assistance he wanted from Guilfoyle was for those patients. 'I wanted help for the Dr Durrani victims. And she couldn't do that. She was unwilling to do that,' he said.

He also called for President Trump to seek Durrani's extradition. In the first video, Deters said he wanted 'the extradition by the president of Dr Durrani' and an investigation into Medical Protective's role in Durrani's departure from the country. The video records Deters making those requests; it does not establish wrongdoing by Medical Protective.

Deters told CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 on Monday, 12 October, that he planned to sue Guilfoyle and her lawyers.

The allegations between Deters and Guilfoyle remain disputed.