Investigation delves into the Tate brothers and their connection to the Trump family

Geoff Bennett:

Now a new investigation into the political maneuvers that led to the release of Andrew and Tristan Tate, right-wing influencers charged with rape, human trafficking and other crimes.

The Tates, who are major players with big social media followings in the so-called manosphere, are facing criminal investigations in Romania and criminal charges in the U.K. for alleged sex crimes. The brothers had been barred from leaving Romania for years as prosecutors built their case. But, in February, the Romanian government suddenly lifted the travel ban and allowed the two to board a plane to Florida, which they announced in this video recorded on the plane.

Both men have denied the criminal allegations. A new report from The New York Times reveals how the Trump administration and some members of the president's family may have been involved in a larger movement in conservative circles to support the Tates.

For more, we're joined now by New York Times investigative reporter Megan Twohey, who helped break the story.

Thanks for being with us.

Megan Twohey, The New York Times:

Happy to be with you.

Geoff Bennett:

So, for the unfamiliar, tell us more about who the Tate brothers are and the criminal allegations they were facing in Romania.

Megan Twohey:

So, Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan to a lesser extent are two of the most influential figures in the so-called manosphere world.

They — Andrew's a former kickboxer, who has built a huge, massive online audience by preaching brazen masculinity and chauvinism to a young male audience. He and his brother also ran a porn business for about 10 years, bragging about how they lured and steered women into making sexual content for paying customers online, and with them taking a lot of the profit.

And they have also sold courses to young men on how to make money and exploit women.

Geoff Bennett:

And, as we mentioned, the Romanian courts originally required the Tates to remain in that country as the cases were built against them. But then seemingly overnight back in February, they were seen on this plane headed to Florida.

Your reporting links that shift to the relationships they cultivated with influential figures on the political right, to include members of Donald Trump's own family. What did you learn about those relationships?

Megan Twohey:

Yes.

So, Andrew and Tristan, they have joined American and British citizenship, but have been based in Romania since like the mid-2010s. And in 2022, they started to come under investigation. There ultimately have been under investigation in three countries, in Romania, where they're accused of trafficking dozens of women into their porn business and Andrew's been accused of rape.

They also have been accused, they're facing charges in Britain of rape and trafficking. They have also been under criminal investigation here in the United States. But, remarkably, as they started to come under growing numbers of criminal investigations, they forged really close alliances with people on the American right, ranging from media figures like Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens to members of the Trump family, first starting with Donald Trump Jr. and then with Barron Trump.

And those — we found in the course of our reporting that those sort of strategic alliances culminated in their release from Romania in February of this year.

Geoff Bennett:

How? How did that all happen? How did the U.S. involvement in their case ramp up after Trump's reelection?

Megan Twohey:

So, the prosecutors in Romania had barred the brothers from traveling. They have been arguing as they have been investigating these brothers that they pose a public risk and a flight risk, a public danger and a flight risk.

And so they have like repeatedly been seeking to confine them in the country. And that changed in February, when the prosecutors — like, an extraordinary order came down from the highest levels of the Romanian government instructing prosecutors to reach a compromise with the brothers.

And then those travel bans were lifted, which was something that the prosecutors did not want to do, according to our sources. And what we have learned is that was really a culmination. Once Trump was reelected, there were supporters of the Tates here in the United States who ascended into the administration, including a special diplomatic envoy named Richard Grenell, who we found through our reporting had at least two conversations with Romanian officials about the Tates' case.

And then within days of that second conversation, the order came down in Romania ordering the compromise that led to the lifting of the travel bans. And we have been told that the Romanian prime minister believed that that would appease the Trump administration.

Geoff Bennett:

What did your reporting find about the involvement of Donald Trump Jr. and Barron Trump specifically?

Megan Twohey:

Yes.

So, the — so, Andrew Tate was very sort of strategic and shrewd in cultivating these alliances with people on the American right, including in the Trump family. And so his relationship with Don Jr. stretches back to 2017, when Andrew had posted a positive tweet about his father and Don Jr. had liked it.

And, anyway, soon, they were hanging out at Trump Tower here in New York. And that stretched up through him coming under investigation and being placed on house arrest in Romania. Don Jr. was one of the people who posted online supporting in defense of the Tates and critical of the Romanian investigation.

And then we found that, by 2024, Barron Trump, the youngest son, was also a fan of Andrew and that they actually spoke by Zoom last year with a mutual friend, who told me that Barron is a big fan of the Tates and that, on this call, they had actually discussed the Romanian case and how they thought it was just an effort to silence the Tates, a politically motivated criminal investigation.

Geoff Bennett:

Your reporting points to a network of powerful conservative figures who have championed the Tates, but not everyone on the right shares that view. So what are the fault lines?

Megan Twohey:

Within hours of the travel bans being lifted, the brothers were on a private plane to Florida. And their arrival was, I think, a little bit bumpier than they had expected.

While on the one hand, they have garnered a lot of support from certain media and other conservative figures and even members of the Trump family here in the United States, there were also a lot of conservatives, other conservatives, more traditional conservatives who were outraged that they had come back to the United States, Megyn Kelly, Ben Shapiro.

The Republican Governor Ron DeSantis said that they weren't welcome in his state. And the Florida attorney general actually launched an investigation of them there.

Geoff Bennett:

Megan, how was the White House responding to your reporting?

Megan Twohey:

Well, we went to the White House and Barron Trump and Donald Trump Jr. with a lot of detailed questions and spelling out all of our findings.

Don Jr. did not respond. We got no response for Barron Trump. The White House basically gave us one line, which was that they say the White House has no involvement in the Tates' legal cases.

Geoff Bennett:

Megan Twohey of The New York Times, thanks for sharing your reporting with us.

Megan Twohey:

Thanks so much for having me.