Bill Gates to testify in House Epstein investigation

Bill Gates is set to answer questions behind closed doors Wednesday about his past ties to Jeffrey Epstein, as the House Oversight Committee widens its investigation into the late convicted sex offender and the powerful people who appear in newly released government files.

The Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist will sit for a closed-door transcribed interview with lawmakers. The committee does not plan to record the interview, NPR reported, unlike the videotaped appearances this year by former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. A transcript is expected to be released later.

Gates has not been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein and has repeatedly denied knowing about Epstein’s crimes. In a statement, a spokesperson for Gates said he “welcomes the opportunity to appear before the Committee.”

“While he never witnessed or participated in any of Epstein’s illegal conduct, he is looking forward to answering all the committee’s questions to support their important work,” the spokesperson said.

The Republican-led committee, chaired by Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, requested Gates’s appearance in March after the Justice Department released millions of documents related to Epstein. Gates’s name appears numerous times in the files, along with photographs of him and records indicating he met with Epstein several times after Epstein’s 2008 conviction in Florida for sex crimes involving minors. NPR reported that an email indicates Gates planned to travel on Epstein’s private plane in 2013.

Epstein was arrested again in July 2019 on federal sex-trafficking charges and later died in prison. Authorities determined his death was a suicide.

The released records also include correspondence between Epstein and some former Gates advisers and Gates Foundation staff. The foundation said that “on the basis of Epstein’s claims that he could mobilize significant philanthropic resources for global health and development, a small number of foundation employees interacted with Epstein to try to secure this potential funding.”

“Ultimately, the foundation did not pursue any collaboration with Epstein and no fund was ever created,” it said.

In April, the foundation announced an external review of past foundation engagement with Epstein and its current policies for vetting and developing philanthropic partnerships. The review is ongoing, and the foundation said its board and management will receive an update this summer.

Gates has publicly expressed regret over his association with Epstein. In an interview last year, he said he met Epstein several times to discuss philanthropy and called the relationship a mistake. “Yes, I think I was quite stupid,” Gates said. “I thought it would help me with global health philanthropy, in fact it failed to do that, and it was just a huge mistake.”

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this year that Gates apologized to Gates Foundation employees during a February town hall. According to the Journal, Gates said he first met Epstein in 2011, knew of what he described as an “18-month thing” that had restricted Epstein’s travel, and acknowledged that he did not adequately check Epstein’s background. The Journal reported that Gates told staff he continued meeting Epstein through 2014, including after Melinda French Gates raised concerns, and said he flew on a private jet with Epstein and spent time with him in Washington, New York, France and Germany, but “never stayed overnight” or visited Epstein’s private island.

“I did nothing illicit. I saw nothing illicit,” Gates said, according to the Journal.

The Epstein emails also mention Melinda French Gates. NPR reported that in one email that appeared to be sent to himself, Epstein claimed he helped Bill Gates obtain medication to treat a sexually transmitted infection from “sex with russian girls” and said Gates wanted to give the medication to French Gates in secret. A Gates spokesperson told NPR: “These claims are absolutely absurd and completely false. The only thing these documents demonstrate is Epstein’s frustration that he did not have an ongoing relationship with Gates and the lengths he would go to entrap and defame.”

French Gates told NPR in February that the documents brought “unbelievable sadness” and raised questions for others, including her ex-husband, to answer.

Survivors of Epstein’s abuse have pressed the committee for transparency. Annie Farmer, who has testified that Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell sexually abused her when she was 16, told NPR it is “fair” for Gates to answer questions about the relationship.

“With each person that comes, there’s an opportunity to do something different, and I hope that [Gates] chooses to do that,” Farmer said.

The committee has also interviewed former Attorney General Pam Bondi and Epstein’s longtime assistant, Lesley Groff. Comer has said the panel plans to interview billionaire investor Leon Black, former Clinton aide Doug Band, former Goldman Sachs lawyer Kathryn Ruemmler and former Barclays CEO Jes Staley this summer.