Lithuanian MP Remigijus Žemaitaitis is facing a parliamentary probe after being tricked into believing he was invited to meet Elon Musk in the United States. The parliament’s ethics watchdogs are asked to review the incident.
Žemaitaitis himself disclosed on Tuesday that he had been tricked by a prankster posing as an aide to Musk. Žemaitaitis believed he was invited to meet the head of the US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in New York and was even given plane tickets for the trip but found out they were fake at the airport.
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Critics claim Žemaitaitis may have broken procedural rules by not disclosing the nature of his planned trip and failing to declare first-class plane tickets as a high-value gift. Parliament members are required to inform the Lithuanian parliament, Seimas, about foreign trips.
“[We are asking] the Ethics and Procedures Commission to assess the circumstances of this incident and, if the Commission decides to conduct an investigation, to inform the entire parliament afterwards,” Seimas Speaker Saulius Skvernelis said on Wednesday morning.
Žemaitaitis maintains that he had duly informed the Board of the Seimas about his planned trip to the US.
Agnė Širinskienė, deputy speaker of the Seimas formerly a fellow member of Žemaitaitis’ Nemunas Dawn party, commented on Tuesday that the politician violated the rules on MPs’ official trips.
According to her, Žemaitaitis deceived the Seimas Board by claiming his trip to the US was to be private, while believing he would meet government officials.
In an email correspondence with the fraudster, who shared it with the media, Žemaitaitis agreed on the details of his trip to the US where he was supposed to travel with his wife at DOGE’s expense, stay in a five-star hotel, and go to see the Broadway musical The Great Gatsby.
In the emails, Žemaitaitis also criticised President Gitanas Nausėda for his alleged criticism of US President Donald Trump.
Žemaitaitis himself says that he intends to turn to the police about the scam.
The Special Investigation Service (STT), an anti-corruption agency, has announced that it has launched a probe of Žemakaitis’ trip.
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