Bill Gates testified in front of the House committee on oversight and reform on Wednesday, and told lawmakers in his opening remarks that he “never witnessed nor had any indication” that Jeffrey Epstein was “engaged in ongoing criminal conduct”.
“I am here to answer your questions about my interactions with Jeffrey Epstein and to help contribute to the committee’s important work,” Gates said in his opening statement, seen by the Guardian. “I support the release of all the Epstein files and sincerely hope that, through your efforts and those of others advocating on their behalf, the survivors of Epstein’s crimes can get the justice that they deserve.”
The Microsoft co-founder appeared in a closed-door session as part of the committee’s investigation into the convicted sex offender, where lawmakers questioned him about his past relationship with Epstein. A transcript of the interview is expected to be released at a later date.
“At the outset, I want to state very clearly: I never witnessed nor had any indication that Epstein was engaged in ongoing criminal conduct,” Gates said. “I never went to his island, his ranch or his Florida home. I have never victimized anyone. While he may have sought to foster a personal relationship, I was never interested in that and never reciprocated.”
Gates told lawmakers that he was “introduced to Epstein in 2011 through people I trusted in my professional and philanthropic work” and that Epstein had “claimed he could raise billions of dollars for global health from people for whom he provided tax and estate services”.
“I recall being aware that Epstein had faced prior legal issues, but I did not fully understand the extent of the crimes he committed,” Gates said, referring to Epstein having pleaded guilty in 2008 to state charges in Florida of solicitation of prostitution and of solicitation of prostitution with a minor. “I accepted the introduction without applying the scrutiny I should have.”
Gates said that his “interactions with Epstein began with a limited number of preliminary meetings – three in 2011 and two in 2012 – during which I talked about the goals of my work”.
The billionaire said that the two began “more extensive conversations in 2013 and 2014” and that the discussions “focused on identifying potential giving structures, such as donor-advised funds, and how to enroll individuals he claimed were interested in making significant contributions”.
“I made it clear to Epstein from the outset that he would never play a role in any of the work or receive any compensation,” Gates said.
Gates said that in 2014, “after Epstein brought together a group he described as potential donors, I realized that our prior discussions – which should have translated into meaningful philanthropic support – were a dead end”.
“It was clear that no one in the group was interested enough to move forward,” he said, adding: “At that point, I concluded Epstein would never deliver on his promises. I told him we would go no further and stopped communicating or meeting with him.”
Gates said that their interactions ended in December 2014. Gates told lawmakers that it was during the same time period that an employee of his was “was in the process of transitioning out of my private office” and that the employee “engaged Epstein to negotiate and advise him on the terms of the separation”.
“His involvement resulted in email exchanges, calls and meetings with members of my team and me,” Gates said. “The agreement we ultimately reached was not any different from what was previously agreed upon months in advance of Epstein inserting himself.”
Gates told lawmakers that it was “after this that I learned Epstein had become aware of sensitive information about my personal life, including the fact that I had been unfaithful in my marriage”.
“These affairs had nothing to do with my interactions with Epstein, but they were painful for my family,” he said. “As the public can now see, based on what has been released in the files, Epstein was working to use information about my infidelities – in addition to many lies that he layered on top – to pressure me to re-engage with him.
“He was unsuccessful in this effort, but it shows some of the ways he tried to leverage his interactions with me to further his agenda.
“I should never have met with Epstein in the first place. Based on what I know now, I understand that even if he had delivered the new donors he promised, it would not have justified associating with him.”
Gates said: “I see now that he sought to build an image of legitimacy around himself, using connections to reputable and powerful people to deflect scrutiny and attempt to rehabilitate his reputation. I was so focused on the possibility of raising funds for global health that I allowed that goal to override my better judgment.”
The committee, chaired by James Comer, requested Gates’s appearance in March, following the justice department’s release of millions of documents related to Epstein earlier this year. The files included numerous mentions of Gates, as well as several photographs of him, and records showing that he met with Epstein on several occasions, renewing scrutiny of Gates’s past ties to the disgraced financier.
Gates has not been accused of any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein and has repeatedly denied having any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes.
Just before 1pm ET on Wednesday, as Gates’s interview continued, Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the committee, stepped out briefly with other Democrats on the panel and provided an update.
“So far, Mr Gates has been cooperative in answering our questions,” Garcia said. “Mr Gates has discussed and provided us information about other folks that were in Mr Epstein’s orbit.”
Garcia’s fellow Democrat Stephen Lynch added: “We continually press him on the point that his relationship, his multiyear relationship with Jeffrey Epstein began after Mr Epstein was already a registered sex offender and had been convicted.”
The Democratic congressman Maxwell Frost said Gates was “very forthright” and came “very prepared” to his deposition with the House oversight committee.
“A lot of time in these depositions, it’s not like you don’t leave with a bombshell piece of information, you get different pieces of information, we piece it together with the other depositions we’ve had,” Frost said.
“It’s a lot better than the Pam Bondi one, where she said she didn’t know anything or blamed everything on Todd Blanche,” he added, referring to the acting attorney general who has played a major role in the Trump administration’s response to the uproar over Epstein.
Democrat Suhas Subramanyam said he learned from the deposition that Gates “clearly feels that Epstein was just a side character in his world, that Epstein was not integral in any sort of way”.
“Bill Gates told us that Epstein pitched him on finding billionaire donors to give to the foundation,” Subramanyam said. “Gates knew about Epstein’s background, perhaps not to the extent of what we know now, but he was willing to do a deal with the devil if it meant funding for global health … [it] appears that Gates knew what he was getting into with Epstein, but still went forward anyway with the idea that it could help his global health initiatives.”
In April, the Gates foundation announced that it had commissioned an “external review to assess past foundation engagement with Epstein, and our current policies for vetting and developing new philanthropic partnerships”.
In recent years, Gates has publicly expressed regret over his past association with Epstein.
Earlier this year, the Wall Street Journal reported that Gates apologized to employees of the Gates foundation during a February town-hall meeting for his past ties to Epstein.
