Probe launched after Trump official intervened on behalf of another alleged sex trafficker

Two key Senate Democrats have launched an inquiry after a ProPublica investigation revealed this week that a White House official had intervened on behalf of his former legal clients — pro-Trump influencer Andrew Tate and his brother — during a federal investigation.

On Thursday, Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Gary Peters sent letters to the White House and the Department of Homeland Security asking for a full accounting of the official’s activities, calling his actions a “brazen interference with a federal investigation.”

ProPublica reported this week that the official, Paul Ingrassia, told senior DHS officials to return electronic devices seized from the Tate brothers when they arrived in the U.S. in February. Ingrassia made clear the request was coming from the White House, according to interviews and records that ProPublica reviewed.

The Tates are facing sex trafficking accusations in three countries. Ingrassia, who has served as White House Liaison to DHS and to the Department of Justice, was part of a legal team that represented the pair before he joined the White House.

Ingrassia had been President Donald Trump’s nominee for the Office of Special Counsel, but the administration withdrew his name after Politico reported he had sent a series of racist text messages to other conservative activists. (His lawyer raised doubts about the authenticity of the texts but said “even if the texts are authentic, they clearly read as self-deprecating and satirical humor.”) Ingrassia has since been offered a job at the General Services Administration.

In their letters to the White House and DHS, Blumenthal and Peters wrote that Ingrassia’s “behavior raises grave questions regarding the independence and impartiality of federal law enforcement operations and the White House’s potential meddling in such investigations.” The letters, first reported by Politico, asked whether Ingrassia’s decision to intervene was made at the direction of other White House personnel, who at DHS knew of the intervention and what DHS did in response.

The senators gave DHS a Dec. 4 deadline to produce records of all communications between Ingrassia and other officials discussing the Tates. They sent a separate letter to DHS’ inspector general calling on him to open an investigation. Blumenthal, of Connecticut, is the ranking member on the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations; Peters, of Michigan, is the ranking member on the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

Ingrassia’s intervention on behalf of Andrew Tate and his brother, Tristan, 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 contemporaneous communications between officials.

The incident is the latest in a string of law enforcement matters where the Trump White House has inserted itself to help friends and target foes. Andrew Tate is one of the most prominent members of the so-called manosphere, a collection of influencers, podcasters and content creators who helped deliver young male voters to Trump.

It’s unclear why law enforcement wanted to examine the Tates’ electronic devices, what their analysis found or whether Ingrassia’s intervention hindered any investigation. The White House and DHS declined to answer questions about the incident.

The Tate brothers’ lawyer, Joseph McBride, told ProPublica he didn’t know what happened to the devices but that his clients have still not had them returned. His clients, he said, are innocent and there were no illicit materials on their electronics.

Ingrassia worked at McBride’s firm before joining the White House and was identified as a member of the firm’s legal team representing the Tates. In a brief interview with ProPublica, he denied trying to help the Tates, before hanging up. “There was no intervention. Nothing happened,” he said. “There was nothing.”

Ingrassia’s lawyer, Edward Paltzik, said in a text message: “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.”

When questioned about whether Ingrassia had asked, rather than ordered, authorities to return the devices, Paltzik declined to answer, explaining 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.”

No criminal charges have been filed against the brothers in the United States. Romanian authorities have accused them of operating a criminal group that trafficked women, including some who alleged the brothers led them to believe they were interested in relationships but instead forced the women into filming online pornographic videos. Prosecutors also said they were investigating allegations that the Tates trafficked minors. Andrew Tate was charged with rape. The Tates have denied the allegations, and the initial charges were sent back to prosecutors by a court because of procedural issues.

The Tates face similar allegations in Britain. Authorities there authorized a raft of charges against the brothers, including rape and human trafficking, based on allegations from three women. In 2024, arrest warrants were issued for the brothers, who have denied wrongdoing.

A woman has also sued the Tates in Florida, accusing them of luring her to Romania to coerce her into sex work. The Tates have denied the allegations, and last month a judge dismissed most of her claims but allowed for her to refile.