A Donald Trump ally who admitted he had “Nazi” tendencies has been accused of intervening on behalf of the White House in the sex-trafficking investigation into misogynist influencer Andrew Tate, according to a new report.
Tate had been facing multiple allegations of trafficking women in the U.K, Romania, and the U.S. when he and his brother Tristan traveled to the United States from their home in Romania in late February.
Ahead of the trip to Florida, which was made by private jet, Tate—a Trump and MAGA supporter who regularly boasts about being a misogynist to his millions of male followers—posted on X: “The Tates will be free, Trump is the president. The good old days are back.”
Amid calls from accusers for Tate to be arrested upon his arrival in the United States, officers from the Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection confiscated the brothers’ electronic devices—only for the White House to step in, according to ProPublica.
Enter Paul Ingrassia, a MAGA lawyer who formerly represented the Tate brothers and has described Andrew Tate as “the embodiment of the ancient ideal of excellence.”
Ingrassia, 30, who was working as the White House liaison to DHS, demanded senior DHS officials return the devices, according to interviews and records reviewed by ProPublica.
In a written request sent several days after the incident, and reviewed by the investigative outlet, Ingrassia criticized CBP for taking the action, saying it had not been a worthwhile use of its time and effort, and that the White House wanted the devices handed back to the Tates.
ProPublica reports that the intervention “caused alarm among DHS officials that they could be interfering with a federal investigation if they followed through with the instruction,” according to interviews and screenshots of officials’ communications.
One official told the outlet they had been outraged by the Ingrassia request’s “brazenness and the high-handed expectation of complicity,” adding, “It was so offensive to what we’re all here to do, to uphold the law and protect the American people. We don’t want to be seen as handing out favors.”
ProPublica reports that it was not known why law enforcement had confiscated the devices, whether they did any analysis on them and what that had shown, or whether Ingrassia’s intervention had hampered any investigation.
John F. Tobon, a retired assistant director for Homeland Security Investigations, which analyzes confiscated devices on behalf of CBP, said he had “never heard of anything like that in my 30 years working,” adding: “For anyone to say this request is from the White House, it feels like an intimidation tactic.”
The White House and DHS declined to answer questions about the incident when approached by ProPublica.
When reached by phone by the outlet, Ingrassia—who last month lost a plum Senate-confirmed job after Politico revealed a string of vile group-chat messages in which he bragged about having a “Nazi streak”—denied helping the Tates. “There was no intervention. Nothing happened,” he said, before hanging up.
Ingrassia’s lawyer, Edward Paltzik, said: “Mr. Ingrassia never ordered that the Tate Brothers’ devices be returned to them, nor did he say—and nor would he have ever said—that such a directive came from the White House. This story is fiction, simply not true.”
Asked if Ingrassia had requested DHS return the devices, Paltzik declined to comment, saying that “the word ‘ask’ is inappropriate because it is meaningless in this context. He either ordered something or he didn’t. And as I said, he did NOT order anything.”
A DHS spokesperson did not address the specifics put to the department by ProPublica concerning the alleged intervention or its potential impact on an investigation. In a statement it said Customs and Border Protection “performed a 100% baggage examination and detained all electronic media devices when the Tate Brothers entered the country. Electronic media devices were detained and turned over to Homeland Security Investigators for inspectional purposes.”
When contacted by the Daily Beast, DHS offered the same statement. The White House did not respond to a request for comment from the Beast.
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