Name: NYT investigation details how Tate brothers were freed from Romania
Uploaded: 2025-12-16T03:09:10.287Z
Duration: 3 min 22 s
Description: A new investigation has uncovered how right-wing influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate, who face pending rape and human trafficking charges in Romania, courted powerful conservative allies in the U.S. One of the co-authors of the piece, New York Times investigative reporter Megan Twohey, joins CBS News to discuss the findings.

A new investigation has uncovered how right-wing influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate, who face pending rape and human trafficking charges in Romania, courted powerful conservative allies in the U.S. One of the co-authors of the piece, New York Times investigative reporter Megan Twohey, joins CBS News to discuss the findings.

Bucharest

A New York Times investigation has uncovered that Andrew and Tristan Tate, who face rape and human trafficking charges in Romania, were able to leave the country after building alliances with influential U.S. conservatives, including members of the Trump family and former administration officials. The Tates, known for their controversial online presence and business activities, had been under a two-year travel ban while Romanian prosecutors built their case.

The report highlights that the travel ban was lifted following diplomatic interventions and high-level discussions involving U.S. political figures. Despite resuming international travel, the Tates continue to face criminal proceedings in Romania, with additional charges authorized against them in Britain.

NYT investigation details how Tate brothers were freed from Romania

A new investigation uncovered how right-wing influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate, who face pending rape and human trafficking charges in Romania, courted powerful conservative allies in the U.S. The New York Times investigation explores how a two-year-long travel ban that prevented the Tates from leaving Romania while prosecutors built their case was suddenly lifted, allowing Andrew and Tristan to leave for the U.S. The Times found that the Tates built alliances with two of President Trump's sons and other members of the Trump administration who played a crucial role in their release from Romania. The brothers have denied all criminal wrongdoing. Joining us now is one of the co-authors of this piece, Megan Toohey, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter for The New York Times. Megan, it's an honor to have you here on The Daily Report. First, can you explain to us who these men are and what criminal allegations they're facing? Sure, so Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan are huge stars in the manosphere. They have come to prominence and gained a huge following of primarily young men by preaching brazen masculinity and chauvinism. They ran a porn business for about a decade where they bragged about luring women in and pushing them into making sexual online content for paying customers. And they also have taught courses to young men about how to make money and exploit women. And since 2022, late 2022, they've actually been under criminal investigation. They're not currently charged in Romania with coercing dozens of women into that porn business. And Andrew has also been charged of raping one of the women and having sex with and beating a 15-year-old. So how were they able to get released? Who are their, what did you uncover about some of their alliances that they've built? So we found that the release, in February of this year, their travel bans were released. As they had been building their case, prosecutors had repeatedly been seeking and actually had been able to confine them to Romania, saying that they posed a public danger and a flight risk. And that changed in February. And what we found was that that was really the culmination of years of efforts by Andrew Tate in particular to forge alliances on the American right with media figures like Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens, and then members of the Trump family, first Don Jr. and then Barron Trump, who spoke with Andrew by phone last year and they discussed the Romanian case and why they thought it was just an effort to silence Andrew and his brother, and then up through the administration. In particular, Richard Grenell, a special diplomatic envoy, spoke with at least two Romanian officials about the case. What legal exposure do they still face? Right, so in February, an extraordinary order came down from the highest levels of the Romanian government within days of that second conversation that Richard Grenell had, basically ordering the prosecutors to come up with a compromise. And that led to the travel ban being lifted, which the prosecutors didn't want to do. But that criminal case, it allowed the Tates, they're now like they've resumed a jet setting lifestyle, they're all over the place, they're juicing their brand, but they still face that criminal case in Romania. When that case is done, there are charges that have been authorized against them in Britain for trafficking and rape there. Okay, and we know you'll stay on top of it. I encourage everybody to read your reporting. Megan Tuohy, thank you.

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