The Trump administration has reportedly applied pressure on Romanian authorities to ease travel restrictions for controversial influencer Andrew Tate, who has publicly supported the US president while facing criminal charges in Bucharest.
Andrew and his brother Tristan Tate, holding dual US-UK citizenship, have gained significant attention in rightwing social media circles following their 2022 arrest in Romania. The brothers face charges of human trafficking, s*xual misconduct, and money laundering, as well as forming an organized crime group. Both maintain their innocence.
Romania journal was the first to report.
According to three sources familiar with the situation, US officials first raised the Tates’ case during a phone call with the Romanian government last week. The matter was subsequently discussed when Trump’s special envoy Richard Grenell met with Romanian foreign minister Emil Hurezeanu at the Munich Security Conference.
A fourth source indicated that a request was made for the return of the brothers’ passports and permission to travel while awaiting court proceedings.
When asked about his meeting with Grenell, Hurezeanu declined to comment. His spokesperson noted that Hurezeanu initiated the meeting, stating they “had known each other for a long time” from their time as ambassadors in Berlin during Trump’s first term.
The spokesperson emphasized that “Romanian courts are independent and operate based on the law, there is due process.”
Grenell contested knowing Hurezeanu, stating he had “no substantive conversation” with him. According to Grenell, Hurezeanu “saw me in the hallway” in Munich and “asked for a meeting,” with no further interaction. Grenell added, “I support the Tate brothers as evident by my publicly available tweets.”
Earlier this month, Grenell posted on X that Romania exemplified how US Agency for International Development (USAID) funds had been “weaponised against people and politicians who weren’t woke.”
Tristan Tate has urged supporters to investigate “if any USAID went to Romania to fund any particular Lawfare base investigations.”
The brothers maintain a substantial following in the “manosphere” – online communities promoting male superiority and anti-feminist views – which contributed to Trump’s re-election campaign. Trump ally Tucker Carlson has conducted sympathetic interviews with both brothers, encouraging viewers to “make up their own mind” about them.
In November, Tristan Tate claimed on X that “millions of young men in Europe and the USA have a healthy rightwing approach to politics that they would NOT have if Andrew Tate had never appeared on their phone screens.”
The brothers also face potential extradition to the UK, where Bedfordshire police have secured an arrest warrant regarding r*pe and human trafficking allegations. A Romanian court has ruled that extradition can proceed once their Romanian case concludes.
A Florida woman recently filed a civil lawsuit alleging the brothers coerced her into s*x work after bringing her to Romania, and accused them of defamation following her testimony in Bucharest.
The brothers recently achieved a legal victory when a Romanian appeals court returned their case to prosecutors. While no longer under house arrest, they remain banned from leaving the country.
In a written statement, the brothers said: “The Tate brothers remain fully dedicated to working alongside their legal team to explore every legal avenue available within the framework of Romania’s judicial system. Their sole focus is on ensuring that due process is followed and that their innocence is established in a court of law.”
US vice-president JD Vance recently criticized Romanian authorities for annulling a presidential election, citing it as an example of an alleged internal threat to European democracy through crackdowns on rightwing politicians.
Romania’s constitutional court explained its unprecedented December decision by stating the electoral process was “flawed” due to a sophisticated social media campaign allegedly coordinated by Moscow.
