- Microsoft co-founder questioned over ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
- Gates calls Epstein’s meeting a “serious error in judgment.”
- Gates says he never visited Epstein’s island or properties.
WASHINGTON: Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said on Wednesday he has “never made any sacrifices” as he faced questions from US lawmakers about his ties to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Gates, one of the world’s richest men and a leading 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 any ongoing criminal conduct. I never went to his island, his ranch or his home in Florida. I never made any victims,” Gates said in prepared testimony for the closed hearing posted on his personal website.
Gates described his encounter with Epstein as “a serious lapse in judgment” and added, “if the time I spent with Epstein gave him any 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.
Merely appearing in Epstein-related documents does not indicate evidence of a crime.
‘foolish’
The Epstein files include a draft email from 2013 in which the financier appeared to suggest he had helped Gates deal with the fallout from extramarital affairs, including by seeking antibiotics after a sexually transmitted infection.
Gates has called the email fake and denied the allegations.
Gates told his foundation staff that he had affairs with two Russian women, the The Wall Street Journal reported, but refused to spend time with Epstein’s victims.
Gates told the hearing Wednesday that he was introduced to 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 benefits.
“I remember being aware that Epstein had faced previous legal problems, but I did not fully understand the extent of the crimes he committed. I accepted the introduction without applying the scrutiny I should have,” 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 has 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 the remaining questions about the relationship are up to her ex-husband and others to answer.
In his testimony Wednesday, Gates said he learned the financier “had become aware of sensitive information about my personal life, including the fact that I had been unfaithful in my marriage.”
He said those affairs had “nothing to do with my interactions with Epstein,” but he sought to “use information about my infidelities — in addition to many lies that he layered on top of — to pressure me to re-engage with him. He was unsuccessful in that effort,” he said.
The House Oversight Committee has been investigating Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell as part of a broad investigation into how the government handled the case and what it has released from its files.
US President Donald Trump, who also had a years-long relationship with Epstein, initially resisted releasing the files, leading to accusations of a coverup 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 videotaped, unlike several others released by the committee.
US media reported that Gates had hired former Justice Department lawyer John Moran and received preparation from Jake Greenberg, a former top investigator on the Oversight Committee, a move that ethics experts said raised questions about optics but did not necessarily violate rules.
