Four women who say they were sexually abused by social media influencer Andrew Tate have asked the US not to get involved in his case in Romania.
The women are worried because they heard that US officials asked Romania to ease travel restrictions on Tate and his brother, Tristan Tate, who have both UK and US nationality. Their lawyer, Matthew Jury, told the BBC that they are confused about why the Trump administration is interfering, but Romania says it is not being pressured by the US.
Tate, 38, and his brother were arrested in Romania three years ago and are facing trial for rape, trafficking minors, and money laundering, which they deny.
In the UK, the brothers are also wanted by police for rape and human trafficking, which they also deny. Their extradition to the UK will be handled after the Romania case is over.
Tate’s representatives had no comment on the new development. The Financial Times reported that US officials mentioned the case to the Romanian government last week, and Trump’s envoy Richard Grenell followed up over the weekend. A source said the US asked for the brothers’ passports to be returned so they could travel while waiting for their trial.
The Tate brothers are not allowed to leave Romania but are no longer under house arrest.
Romanian Foreign Minister Emil Hurezeanu confirmed to Euronews that Grenell had raised Tate’s case with him, and that Grenell had said he was “interested in the fate of the Tate brothers”. The minister denied this amounted to pressure from Americans.
A spokesperson for Mr Hurezeanu told the Financial Times: “Romanian courts are independent and operate based on the law, there is due process.”
Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu also denied the reports on X, writing: [The US] has not made any requests to [Romania] upon the legal situation of well-known foreign influencers investigated by the Romanian authorities.
“There were no demands either during the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs- Richard Grenell discussion or after it. Romania and USA share the same values regarding the fundamental rights and freedoms of citizens.”
According to the FT, Grenell said he had no “substantive conversation” with Hurezeanu, but added: “I support the Tate brothers as evident by my publicly available tweets.”
The US State Department has been approached by the BBC for comment.
The Tate brothers have wide support on right-wing social media, and supported Trump during the US election campaign.
Lawyer Mr Jury said: “It’s very clear from members of the Trump administration’s social media posts and public statements that there is a great deal of support for Tate.
“Either they don’t know or they don’t care about the nature of the allegations and how serious they are,” he told BBC Newsnight.
He said the women he represented were “absolutely distraught”.
“To see the most powerful man in the world support their alleged abuser, is incredibly traumatising… it’s gaslighting of a sort.”
And he called the reported US actions a “gross interference in my clients’ right to a fair trial and due process”.