WASHINGTON — Lawyer and former Trump donor Eric Deters has filed a defamation lawsuit against former US Ambassador to Greece Kimberley Guilfoyle in what appears to be an effort to secure the extradition of an alleged fraudster.
Deters, who last year revealed text messages in which Guilfoyle allegedly pleaded with him to help pay roughly $100,000 in personal debts, announced the lawsuit after she reportedly claimed the messages had been created by artificial intelligence.
Deters said he would withdraw the lawsuit if President Trump helped extradite physician Abubakar Atiq Durrani from his suspected location in Pakistan and investigated the judiciary’s handling of the case.
“This is not extortion,” Deters said in a video posted to social media. “Nothing I am asking for or doing is unlawful. I am playing hardball because the doctor Durrani victims deserve hardball on their behalf.”
Guilfoyle has publicly offered only a vague denial, calling the accusations against her “false,” while privately telling White House officials that the explosive messages seeking money were AI-generated, the Wall Street Journal reported. The messages, along with the controversy they created for the White House, led Trump to request Guilfoyle’s resignation.
Deters, who has mounted a campaign to have Durrani extradited on behalf of the doctor’s alleged victims, also hinted that he possesses damaging information about other figures in Trump’s orbit.
“Information is pouring into me. And I got off the phone today from someone in Greece,” he said. “By the end of tomorrow I am going to play for you a phone recording that is the most explosive, most devastating information about Kimberly Guilfoyle to date.”
“No one in the media has it,” Deters added, saying he planned to play a 16-minute phone conversation.
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Deters, who said he is representing himself in the defamation case, also previewed plans to seek depositions from Donald Trump Jr. and Guilfoyle. The pair became engaged in 2020 before officially ending their relationship in 2024.
The White House announced Tuesday that Guilfoyle had been asked to step down, and she announced her resignation soon afterward.
“This might just bring down the entire Trump administration, an administration which I have supported from day one, whose policies I still support,” Deters declared.
“It also may end the JD Vance, Marco Rubio ticket after you hear the phone call that I’m going to play tomorrow.”
Durrani was indicted in 2013 on numerous charges after allegedly persuading nearly 600 people to undergo unnecessary and dangerous spinal surgeries. He is believed to have fled the country before standing trial.
Deters provided legal assistance to several victims who said they were subjected to Durrani’s alleged efforts to push them into unnecessary medical procedures.
He is also seeking an admission that he “did not blackmail” Guilfoyle and that he does not owe her any money.
“The lawsuit is clearly frivolous on its face. Our upcoming response will speak for itself,” Guilfoyle’s lawyer told The Post.
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