Michael Buholzer / World Economic Forum
“I was never on the island” and “Epstein was trying to use information about my infidelities to pressure me.” Congressmen wonder: could one of the gurus of the information age simply not know anything?
Bill Gates told a United States Congress committee this Wednesday that never had a personal relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and who severed all ties with the sex offender when he was unable to fulfill promises to raise funds for philanthropic initiatives.
The Microsoft founder voluntarily attended the closed-door hearing in Washington before the House Oversight Committee investigating Epstein. Gates is believed to have named names of influential people approached by Epstein in an attempt to raise funds.
Gates also spoke about marital infidelitiesclaiming that Epstein used them to pressure him.
“I’ve never been to the island”
Members of the commission said the testimony showed that Epstein was a “collector of friends” and that he associated with people like Gates to “project power and influence.”
In his opening statement, Gates said he never saw Epstein involved in criminal conduct, nor did he have any indication to that effect.
“I never went to his island, his ranch or his house in Florida. I never victimized anyone”, he said, “although he may have sought to foster a personal relationship, I was never interested in that and I never responded”, he safeguarded.
Gates also said he hopes that “survivors of Epstein’s crimes can get the justice they deserve.”
Gates after the Clintons and Maxwell
In addition to Gates, former President Bill Clinton, former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, among others, have also made statements to the commission.
Epstein committed suicide in a prison cell in 2019 while awaiting trial. Her longtime friend, Ghislaine Maxwell, is serving a 20-year prison sentence. Maxwell appeared virtually before the commission in February but invoked his right to refuse to answer questions.
When the US Department of Justice published millions of pages of documents linked to the Epstein criminal investigation in January, Gates’ name was mentioned thousands of times and the Microsoft founder appeared in several photos alongside Epstein.
Gates has denied any wrongdoing and any knowledge of Epstein’s illegal activities.
Epstein’s regret and “lies” in emails
In the opening statement, Gates reiterated what he had already said in one earlier this year that he showed poor judgment in meeting with Epstein and that he is “one of many people who regret meeting him.”
A photograph released by the Justice Department shows Gates near an aircraft, in the presence of Epstein’s pilot. Gates said he traveled with Epstein on a private jet.
Other documents include draft emails attributed to Epstein, with a series of unverified and disputed allegations about Gates’ personal life. Among them are allegations that Epstein facilitated “illicit encounters” with “married women” for Gates, that Gates contracted a sexually transmitted infection (STI) from “Russian women” and that Epstein “helped him obtain medication” to treat it.
In another email, Epstein claimed that Gates secretly tried to give his then-wife, Melinda, antibiotics to protect her from the same infection. Gates denies these allegations, but admitted to having had extramarital affairs with two Russian women.
“Epstein was trying to use information about my infidelities — plus the many lies he added — to pressure me into getting back in touch with him,” Gates said in the opening statement.
Friendship began after Epstein’s conviction
The connection between the two began in 2011, three years after Epstein was convicted in Florida on two charges related to soliciting prostitution services, and intensified as they discussed possible fundraising strategies for Gates’ global health initiative, the Microsoft founder said.
Gates said he made it clear from the beginning that Epstein would never have any role in his foundation’s work nor would he receive any compensation.
The committee’s top Democrat, Robert Garcia, told reporters in an update on the hearing that “Gates was aware that Jeffrey Epstein could have been convicted of a horrific crime and continued to interact with him to try to obtain money for his foundation.”
Gates told the commission that in 2014, after Epstein assembled a group he described as potential donors, he realized that “previous discussions — which should have translated into significant philanthropic support — were a dead end,” adding that it became clear that no one in the group was interested in moving forward.
“At that point, I concluded that Epstein would never keep his promises,” he said. “I told him we would not move forward and stopped communicating or meeting with him.”
Gates provided names
Congressional Democrats on the committee said Gates provided the names of people gathered by Epstein but did not release them publicly.
Republican Tim Burchett, a member of the commission, said the questions were “very intense” and that Gates was cautious in his answers.
“It’s pretty clear to me that Epstein was a collector of friends. He just liked being around important people and taking pictures with them and hanging out with them, and I think that’s how he attracted them,” Burchett said.
He also told journalists that Gates looked “dejected for someone who has several billion.”
Garcia and other Democrats on the committee said Gates talked about Epstein’s draft emails and insisted that he was never introduced to women, girls or anyone underage by Epstein.
“Some of their responses show us that many of the men who interacted with Jeffrey Epstein only saw what they wanted to see in those interactions,” said Democrat Emily Randall.
Gates told officials at his foundation in February that he was aware of something vague about a travel ban imposed on Epstein over an 18-month period, but that he did not investigate his background further.
Congressmen also questioned Gates about whether it is plausible to believe that he — one of the gurus of the information age — remained largely unaware of the details of Epstein’s background, including facts that were already in the public domain.
