Rubio Warns State Department on Ethics After Guilfoyle Resignation

Louisa Gouliamaki / REUTERS Kimberly Guilfoyle’s abrupt exit from the Trump administration triggered a word of caution from her former boss.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio reminded State Department employees of ethics rules after Guilfoyle was asked to step down as ambassador to Greece over bombshell allegations of improper—and possibly illegal—conduct in office.

“As part of demonstrating our personal and professional integrity, I expect employees to avoid conflicts of interest in our work, to act impartially, and to avoid using our public offices for private gain,” Rubio said in Wednesday correspondence obtained by Bloomberg .

Rubio, 55, underscored the importance of the Hatch Act, a 1939 law that bars federal employees from partisan political activity, “and related regulations regarding when and how we can engage in political activity, none of which is permitted in the federal workplace.” “We each have a personal obligation to comply with our government ethics rules,” he said.

Rubio did not explain why he sent the message and the State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Though Rubio made no mention of Guilfoyle, the correspondence was sent out just a day after the White House publicly asked her to resign in the messy aftermath of a Wall Street Journal exposé .

The damning story included screenshots of Guilfoyle asking Trump donor Eric Deters to wire her $100,000 to pay off an American Express card.

“It won’t show up anywhere if you wire money to American Express,” she wrote in messages reviewed by The Journal.

“Please.” Deters never made the payment, citing concerns about his marriage.

Guilfoyle was also accused of threatening foreign officials, giving lobbyists privileged access, and attempting to solicit payments in exchange for political influence.

The Associated Press later reported that Rubio and President Donald Trump were “extremely pi---d off” by reports of Guilfoyle’s conduct.

“Well, we’re looking at it,” Trump told reporters on Monday.

“We’re not happy.” The White House asked Guilfoyle to step down during Katie Zacharia’s debut as press secretary on Tuesday.

“We have asked Ambassador Guilfoyle to resign,” Zacharia told reporters.