US must not interfere in case, say alleged victims

Four women who allege they were sexually abused by the social media influencer Andrew Tate have urged the US not to interfere in his case in Romania.

The women said they were “extremely concerned” by reports that US officials had asked Romania to relax travel restrictions against Tate and his brother, Tristan Tate, who have dual UK-US nationality.

Lawyer Matthew Jury, who is representing the four alleged victims, told the BBC they were “absolutely bewildered why the Trump administration has decided to interfere in this way”, although Romania denies being pressured by the US.

Tate, 38, and his brother were arrested in Romania three years ago and face trial on allegations of rape, trafficking minors and money laundering, all of which they deny.

Separately, the brothers are wanted by police in the UK over allegations of rape and human trafficking, which they also deny. Their extradition to the UK will be dealt with once the Romania case finishes.

Representatives for the Tates said they had no comment on the latest development.

The Financial Times newspaper first reported that US officials had brought up the case with the Romanian government last week, and it was then followed up by Trump’s envoy Richard Grenell at the weekend.

One source told the paper that a request had been made by the US to return the brothers’ passports to them so they could travel while waiting for the criminal case against them to finish.

The Tate brothers are currently banned from leaving Romania, although 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 Romanian government, a key US ally on the Black Sea coast, the south-east flank of Nato, finds itself between a rock and a hard place.

Deputy US President JD Vance mentioned Romania no less than three times in his speech to the Munich Security Conference last week – on the fringes of which US special envoy Richard Grenell held his conversation with Romania’s top diplomat.

Vance suggested that the evidence cited by the Constitutional Court of Russian interference was “flimsy” and urged Romania not to disqualify the front runner, Calin Georgescu, from running in the 4 and 18 May re-run.

The President of the Constitutional Court, Marian Enache, fiercely defended the court decision in an interview published on Wednesday.

“The irregularities were so huge that the only solution possible was to annul the whole electoral process,” he told the juridice.ro website.

In the Tate case, it might be assumed that the British government would encourage the Romanian government and courts to stand firm and resist US pressure.

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”.

Mr Jury is representing the four women in a civil case against Tate at the High Court in the UK, after the Crown Prosecution Service decided not to prosecute their case. The Tate brothers deny the claims.

The civil case is separate to the criminal allegations currently being investigated by British police.

In their statement, the four women added: “We hope that the Romanian and the UK authorities will be left alone to do their jobs.”

Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick also warned the US not to interfere, saying the Tate brothers “must face our justice system”.

“No obstacles should be placed in the way of UK authorities. The government must make that clear to US counterparts.”

Grenell is not the only Trump appointee to have publicly supported the Tates.

Paul Ingrassia, a former lawyer and press representative for Tate who is now White House liaison to the US Department of Justice, routinely praised Tate in online posts.

In one dating from July 2023, he called Tate “an extraordinary human being” who could “offer a dying West some hope for renewal”.

Tate is a self-described misogynist and has previously been banned from social media platforms for expressing those views.

A former kickboxer, he has gained millions of followers online and has lived in Romania for a number of years, having previously been based in the UK.