Lithuania's Prosecutor General's Office on Thursday announced that it had closed a pre-trial investigation into MP Remigijus Žemaitaitis' attempted trip to the United States, concluding there were no grounds for criminal charges.
"In the absence of objective elements of a criminal offence, the pre-trial investigation has been terminated as no offence having the elements of a crime or a criminal offence has been committed,” the prosecution service said.
In early March, the leader of the Nemunas Dawn party, part of the ruling bloc, said he had been deceived by a prankster pretending to be a staff member from DOGE, the controversial US government efficiency agency formerly led by Tesla founder Elon Musk.
The prankster had arranged an all-expenses-paid trip to the US for the MP and his wife, including luxury accommodation, and tickets to the Broadway musical The Great Gatsby.
Upon arriving at the airport, however, the couple discovered that the plane tickets were fake.
In his email correspondence with the impersonator, Žemaitaitis had discussed the itinerary in detail and also made critical remarks about Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda, accusing him of criticising US President Donald Trump.
The Special Investigation Service (STT) launched a probe into whether Žemaitaitis' planned trip to the United States – to allegedly meet with Musk, who was heading DOGE at the time – constituted an attempt to abuse his office for financial or political gain.
According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, the STT inquiry examined the full context of the trip and determined that the MP’s actions did not constitute a criminal offence.
"The prosecutor's decision to discontinue the pre-trial investigation states that the email correspondence between Žemaitaitis and the person who pretended to be a representative of a US institution regarding the organisation of the trip, the politician's planned meetings in the US and other issues, as well as other collected material from the pre-trial investigation, do not confirm that Žemaitaitis committed a criminal offence in the situation under investigation," the report states.
However, the controversy has drawn ethical scrutiny. Earlier this month, the Lithuanian parliament’s Commission for Ethics and Procedures concluded that by concealing the true nature of his planned trip Žemaitaitis had breached principles of honesty, transparency, and publicity outlined in the Code of Conduct for State Politicians.
The commission decided to refer the matter to the Chief Official Ethics Commission to assess Žemaitaitis' conduct under the Law on Lobbying Activities.
Meanwhile, a separate police investigation is ongoing into the forged travel documents sent to Žemaitaitis by the anonymous prankster.
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