Did the Trump Administration Help Topple Romania's Government Earlier This Year?

US Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle told Greek officials that the United States played a role in the collapse of the Romanian government in May, according to recent reporting from The Wall Street Journal (Center bias) and Financial Times (Center). Guilfoyle's lawyer and Romanian politicians have disputed the notion.

Key Context: In May, Romania's conservative populist and democratic socialist parties joined forces to topple the country's pro-EU government, creating political uncertainty and sinking its currency to a record low. Romania is an EU and NATO member that has deepened its military ties with the US in recent years.

WSJ Report: The Journal reported on Sept. 25 that Greek officials are "fearful of getting on [Guilfoyle's] bad side" and that on Mar. 18 she got into an argument with Greek energy minister Stavros Papastavrou. According to "a person who attended the dinner and others who were told about it," Guilfoyle told Papastavrou, referencing the Romanian collapse, "We can do that to any country we want. We can do that here." The Journal added that Guilfoyle's lawyer "disputed the characterization of the exchange."

FT Report: On Sept. 29, Financial Times referenced The Journal's reporting and said Guilfoyle "spoke about Romania in those terms," according to "a person familiar with the matter." FT juxtaposed its confirmation of Guilfoyle's comments with a following paragraph that noted the Romanian government collapsed in May. It also quoted a State Department official who said the US "values ​​the strategic partnership with Romania, which remains strong on our shared priorities, including energy security and the redistribution of defense burdens."

Zoom Out: The Journal's coverage focused on Guilfoyle's close involvement with 39-year-old American Christos Marafatsos and "persistent promotion" of Aktor, a Greek energy firm he lobbies for. It described Guilfoyle as having so far played "one of the Trump administration's most important diplomatic roles" in how she has promoted a "vertical gas corridor" designed to carry US liquefied natural gas from Greece, through Central and Eastern Europe to Ukraine. In late February, the US Department of Energy hosted officials from Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, and the European Commission to discuss the project.

Romania Meeting: On March 31 in Romania, Guilfoyle met with leaders of the democratic socialist Social Democratic Party (PSD). A video has surfaced online that appears to show the meeting. Financial Times mentioned the meeting in its coverage, though The Journal did not. On Apr. 20, PSD withdrew from Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan's governing coalition. From there, PSD teamed up with the conservative populist Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) to topple the current government, sending Romania into a political crisis. Since The Journal's report made headlines across Romanian media, PSD's leader has called the idea that his party collaborated with Washington to topple his government a conspiracy theory and "right-wing propaganda." PSD did confirm that the meeting focused on the vertical gas corridor, however. Bolojan's government supported the corridor, though it reportedly refused a 20-year deal that would have locked in LNG purchases at a rate it deemed unfavorable.

RELATED: Romanian Left and Right Team Up to Topple Pro-EU Government After 10 Months in Power | AllSides

How The Media Covered It: The story was not widely covered by Western English-language outlets. In addition to WSJ and FT, AllSides found coverage from Mediaite (Lean Left) and The Nation (Left). An opinion by Jeet Heer for The Nation described Guilfoyle as a "master of mafia diplomacy" who "has too long been treated merely as a shadow of the men in her life – but [is] actually a formidable villain in her own right." Mediaite focused on Marafatsos and the vertical gas corridor, and didn't mention Guilfoyle's alleged comments about toppling governments. Anne Applebaum (Center) of The Atlantic (Left) described Guilfoyle's comments as an "amazing detail" in The Journal's reporting.

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