- Microsoft co-founder questioned about his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
- Gates calls the meeting with Epstein a “serious error in judgment.”
- Gates says he never visited the island or Epstein’s properties.
WASHINGTON: Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said Wednesday he “never victimized anyone” as he faced questioning from U.S. lawmakers about his ties to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Gates, one of the world’s richest men and a prominent philanthropist, appeared before the House Oversight Committee for a transcribed interview about the disgraced financier, who died in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges involving underage girls.
“I never witnessed or had any indication that Epstein was involved in ongoing criminal conduct. I never went to his island, his ranch, or his home in Florida. I have never victimized anyone,” Gates said in testimony prepared for the closed-door hearing that was posted on his personal website.
Gates described his meeting with Epstein as “a serious error in judgment” and added: “If the time I spent with Epstein gave him credibility, I am deeply sorry.”
The panel asked Gates to appear after documents released by the Justice Department raised new questions about his contacts with Epstein.
Several other high-profile figures have also appeared before the committee, including Bill and Hillary Clinton and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
Simply appearing in documents related to Epstein does not indicate evidence of a crime.
‘Foolish’
Epstein’s files include a draft email from 2013 in which the financier appeared to suggest he had helped Gates manage the consequences of extramarital affairs, including seeking antibiotics after a sexually transmitted infection.
Gates called the email fake and denied the allegations.
Gates told his foundation staff that he had affairs with two Russian women, the Wall Street Journal reported, but denied spending time with Epstein’s victims.
Gates said at Wednesday’s hearing that he met Epstein in 2011, three years after the financier pleaded guilty in Florida to soliciting a minor for prostitution.
Gates said Epstein had claimed he could raise billions for global health from people to whom he provided tax and estate services.
“I remember being aware that Epstein had faced prior legal problems, but I did not fully understand the scope of the crimes he committed. I accepted the presentation without applying the scrutiny I should have had,” Gates said in testimony.
He said their interactions ended in December 2014 after it became clear that none of the potential donors identified by Epstein were interested enough to move forward.
“I told him we weren’t going any further and stopped communicating or meeting with him,” Gates said.
Gates reportedly acknowledged that his then-wife, Melinda French Gates, raised concerns about Epstein in 2013, but that he continued the relationship for at least another year.
Melinda French Gates, who divorced the Microsoft co-founder in 2021, has said any remaining questions about the relationship must be answered by her ex-husband and others.
In his testimony Wednesday, Gates said he learned that the financier “had learned sensitive information about my personal life, including the fact that I had been unfaithful in my marriage.”
He said these matters “had nothing to do with my interactions with Epstein” but attempted to “use information about my infidelities – plus many lies he layered – to pressure me into re-engaging with him. He was unsuccessful in this effort,” he said.
The House Oversight Committee has been investigating Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell as part of a broad examination of how the government handled the case and what it has revealed from its files.
US President Donald Trump, who also had a years-long relationship with Epstein, initially opposed the release of the files, prompting allegations of a cover-up that dogged his first year back in office.
Democrats say they intend to ask what Gates knew about Epstein’s crimes and the full nature of their relationship.
The interview will not be video recorded, unlike others published by the committee.
US media reported that Gates had hired former Justice Department lawyer John Moran and received coaching from Jake Greenberg, a former senior investigator at the Oversight Committee, a move that ethics experts said raised questions about optics but did not necessarily violate the rules.
